International exchange and travel grant

International exchange and travel grant is sponsored by Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Konstnärsnämnden). This grant supports artists' opportunities to create, develop, and nurture contacts abroad through international exchanges and travel abroad, as well as international exchanges in Sweden.

International exchange and travel grant - Swedish Arts Grants Committee International exchanges and travel grants For artists in visual arts, photography, design, crafts, illustration, textile art or architecture.

International exchange and travel grant The purpose of grants for international exchanges and travel provided by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee is to support artists’ opportunities to create, develop and nurture contacts abroad. This type of grant includes grants for international exchanges and travels abroad as well as international exchanges in Sweden. What kind of support should I apply for?

International exchange and travel abroad The forms of exchanges and travel can vary. For example, an exchange may involve guest performances, exhibitions, residencies, work stays, workshops, or active participation in an event for a certain period. You can also apply for a grant for a self-initiated travel for professional or further training purposes.

The trip could, for example, be aimed at conducting research, attending a short course or workshop, visiting conference, or event as an audience member, or meeting with collaborators. The trip should promote your artistic development or work opportunities. What costs does the grant cover?

You can apply for a grant that typically covers travel and living expenses, and in some cases, you can also apply for a grant covering transportation and participation fees. Grants do not include contributions for production costs, own fees or salaries. If the exchange will take place within the framework of a Swedish institution’s activities, that institution must cover the cost of the exchange.

If you have been invited by or have an agreement with a party abroad, you should include an invitation from the person or organization you will be collaborating with.

The invitation should specify what you will be doing and when, as well as what the inviting party is responsible for, such as fees or payment, accommodation, venue, etc. The invitation can, for example, be a letter or an excerpt from an email conversation, as long as it includes the necessary information.

International exchange in Sweden You can apply for a grant to invite one or more foreign artists to Sweden to share their experiences and knowledge through collaborative work or exchanges. The core here is your exchange from the collaboration, and the exchange should aim to strengthen your artistic development and your international contacts.

The forms of the exchange can vary, from symposia, seminars and workshops to collaborative work in artistic projects. Institutions and other organisers are not eligible to receive this grant. What costs does the grant cover?

You can apply for a grant that typically covers the invited guest’s travel and living expenses. If the exchange will take place within the framework of a Swedish institution’s activities, that institution must cover the cost of the exchange. Grants do not include contributions for production costs, own fees or salaries.

Application and reporting requirements You must be a professional artist in the field of visual arts or design. You have an artistic practice in, for example, the visual arts, photography, design, crafts, illustration, textile art or architecture. To be considered a professional artist, you must earn a living entirely or partly from your artistic activities and regularly present your art to an audience or in an artistic context.

You must be a resident in Sweden or practice most of your art here. You can be a foreign citizen and apply for our stipends and grants, but you must be a resident in Sweden or primarily practice your art here. If you are a Swedish citizen but live abroad, you must be able to demonstrate that most of your artistic activity takes place in Sweden.

You must not be a student for more than 50 per cent of your time when an award decision is made. This means being enrolled in any type of studies, from undergraduate studies to doctoral studies and post-graduate education. You can be studying when you submit your application, but when a decision is made you cannot be enrolled for more than 50 per cent for a course or programme.

You may not have any debts to the state or municipality that have been transferred for collection to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten), nor be declared bankrupt. You may not have tax or fee debts, or any other debts, that have been transferred to the Swedish Enforcement Authority and are being handled as a public collection matter.

You must not have received de minimis aid exceeding a total of 300,000 euros during the last three-year period. Stipends and grants from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee are subject to the provisions of the European Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2031 on state funding, also known as de minimis aid. The application is open all year round, but we make decisions four times a year.

See the application deadlines. You apply by logging in to “My pages”. In order to submit an application, you need to answer all the questions marked as mandatory in the form and attach work samples and the requested appendices.

If you have been invited by or have an agreement with a party abroad, you should include an invitation from the person or organization you will be collaborating with.

The invitation should specify what you will be doing and when, as well as what the inviting party is responsible for, such as fees or payment, accommodation, venue, etc. The invitation can, for example, be a letter or an excerpt from an email conversation, as long as it includes the necessary information. You can be awarded a grant retroactively, provided that your application is submitted before the exchange/trip takes place.

If your application is rejected, you can submit a new application, but only if major circumstances surrounding the exchange changed after the first decision was made. Applications must be submitted by 14. 00 CET on the application deadline.

Work samples are mandatory Choose current work samples that are representative of your artistry, preferably from the last two years. Keep in mind that it can be a good idea to choose both close-ups of your works and images that show how your works are presented in context. When you upload your files with the application, you can specify the title, year, technique, size and description for each file.

Fileformat and size: jpg (2 MB), mp3 (20 MB), mp4 and mov (50 MB) Can I submit my application on paper? We recommend using our e-service to submit your application. It makes it easier for you to ensure that your application was registered and it allows you to follow your case via “My pages”.

How much is the grant amount? There is no fixed or maximum amount, but the types of costs you can seek funding for are limited. Under the information about the different types of grants, you can see what applies.

You describe the expected costs during your trip/exchange under each budget item in the application. Note that we ask for estimates of actual costs for accommodation and living expenses, not foreign per diems or similar. The Swedish Arts Grants Committee does not award grants of less than SEK 5,000.

Several applicants for the same purpose If there are several of you who are going to participate in the same exchange, you must each submit an application. Each application will be assessed individually. The Swedish Arts Grants Committee does not prioritise grants for stays in countries or regions where the Ministry for Foreign Affairs advises against travel .

How is my application assessed? When we receive your application, we verify that you meet all the formal requirements. Members of the international panel of the Visual Artists’ Fund will then read your application.

The members are practising artists or experts in the field of art. At least two people read each application. The decision is made by the Visual Artists’ Fund.

If a member has a conflict of interest in relation to an applicant, that member is forbidden from participating in the review process or award decision for that application. How is your decision made? We select grant recipients based on the quality of artistic activities and the applicant’s financial need.

This means that we assess the quality of the work samples and reference material that you submit. At the same time, we make an assessment of your financial need. This can mean, for example, that we do not prioritise an applicant who has a high income or has recently received other grants or stipends.

In our selection, we aim to distribute the grants to artists in different parts of the country and across a variety of artistic expressions. How is the grant paid out? The grant amount is deposited into the private account stated in your application within six weeks of the award decision being announced.

Grants are exempt from tax. What happens if I can’t complete my trip according to plan? If the trip or exchange changes significantly from what you stated in your application or if it is cancelled for any reason, you must contact the Swedish Arts Grants Committee immediately.

Note that changes must be approved before your trip or exchange, or otherwise you might have to pay back the grant amount in full or in part. Changes in purpose are not approved. Note that the grant is personal and cannot be transferred to cover somebody else’s costs.

If you have applied for and been awarded a grant for the same purpose as this grant from another funding source, you must inform us of the amount by which the grant should be reduced. If your costs are covered by other funding sources, we have the right to withdraw the grant amount in full or in part. Do I have to submit a grant report?

Within one month after the end of your exchange or trip, you must submit a written report to the Swedish Arts Grants Committee explaining how you used the grant amount. You will find the report form on The Swedish Art Grants Committees e-service under “My pages”. If you do not use up the entire grant amount, you might have to pay back part of it.

If you fail to submit a report, we can demand repayment, which can affect your chances of receiving funding from us in the future. If you are awarded a grant for international exchanges and travel, you must state in all communications about your residency that it was carried out with the support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. Please use the wording “with support from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee”.

Use the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s logo in the appropriate contexts. Senior Adviser – Visual and Applied Arts +46 8-506 550 55 (Opens in a New Window) roberta. burchardt@konstnarsnamnden.

se (Opens in a New Window) bildochform@konstnarsnamnden. se (Opens in a New Window) Frequently asked questions about the application De minimis aid (stöd av mindre betydelse) can be grants and subsidies from the public sector. In connection with the announcement and in any decision, it must be stated whether the aid is counted as aid of minor importance.

Information about de minimis aid (in Swedish) How does the Swedish Arts Grants Committee process personal data? Personal data provided in connection with your application for scholarships and grants becomes part of a public document. This means that they never completely disappear.

We mainly use the data to prepare applications. The data is also used to produce statistics and analyze and investigate artists’ conditions. We do this because it is our mission as a government authority.

In analyzes and compilations, individuals’ personal data cannot be identified. Can I supplement my application afterwards? No, you cannot complete your application after the call has closed.

Only complete applications will be processed. However, it is important that you inform us if the conditions for your application have changed, for example that you have started studying or that you have been granted a grant from elsewhere, which affects the amount applied for. What is required to make an online application?

All that is needed to be able to submit an application via our e-service is a computer with an internet connection. Is my application a public document? Yes, an application submitted to the Swedish Arts Grants Committee becomes a public document.

This means that anyone can request to see it. You can only apply for the Swedish Arts Grants Committee ‘s scholarships and grants as an individual artist. If you are awarded a scholarship or grant, it will be paid to you personally.

Within the framework of our project grants, however, you can apply for grants to enlist participation in the project. If you apply to Kulturbryggan’s program, you can represent an organization. Can I apply in several art fields?

If you are active in several art fields, you can apply within these. The application times vary between the different art fields. The applications are processed by different decision-making groups for each art field.

Who counts as a professional artist? Anyone who can fully or partially make a living from their active artistic activity and who repeatedly allows their art to meet an audience/artistic context. How is artistic quality assessed?

Artistic quality refers to the assessment of the artistry that the members of the decision-making groups make based on the work samples attached to the application. The members are professional artists or experts working within the art field in question. Can I write the application in English?

Yes, it is fine to write the application in English.