About
Kulturdirektoratet (The Norwegian Directorate for Culture) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for supporting and funding arts and culture across Norway. The organization administers grant programs for various art forms and cultural fields, and serves as the secretariat for three independent bodies: Kulturrådet (Arts Council Norway), Statens kunstnarstipend (Norwegian Government Grants for Artists), and Fond for lyd og bilde (The Audio and Visual Fund). Kulturdirektoratet works to promote art and culture throughout the country, providing funding, guidance, knowledge dissemination, and publishing research and reports on the cultural sector.
Funding Opportunities
Visuell kunst – kunstnerassistent
The Artist Assistant Scheme provides funding for established visual artists to hire an assistant in a 50% position for one year, with the possibility of one year extension. The purpose of the scheme is to develop young artists and contribute to the professionalization of artists, transfer experience and competence between established and newly graduated artists, and increase income opportunities for both parties. The scheme gives newly graduated artists the opportunity to work as an assistant for an established colleague in a 50% position for one year. The funding is provided as a fixed sum covering the employer's expenses for salary, employer's tax, occupational injury insurance and administrative costs. The assistant's salary is based on approximately step 50 in the main salary table for employees in the state. The scheme aims to create good working relationships that benefit both the established artist and the assistant through knowledge transfer, mentorship, and professional development.
Skolebibliotek
This grant program provides school libraries in primary and lower secondary education with access to new Norwegian books through direct distribution. The program purchases and distributes culture fund books aimed at children and young people to school libraries. Elementary schools receive books for grades 1-10, while secondary schools receive books for grades 5-10. The books distributed are either enrolled in the automatic purchase scheme for new Norwegian fiction for children and young people, or purchased by the Arts Council through selective purchase schemes for fiction, non-fiction, comics, and translated literature. The grant is provided in the form of books rather than monetary funding, and comes in addition to the school's existing library budget. Schools are required to receive and disseminate all books included in the program until the current funding period ends in 2026, and must retain the books for at least five years.
Ny norsk sakprosa for barn og unge – innkjøpsordning
This is a Norwegian book acquisition program managed by the Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet) that purchases new Norwegian non-fiction books for children and young people for distribution to public libraries. The purpose is to ensure that new Norwegian non-fiction of high quality for children and young people is created, published, distributed and read. Publishers with Norwegian organization numbers can apply to have eligible books purchased. Books must be new Norwegian non-fiction (literary original works about reality), either written in Norwegian (bokmål, nynorsk or dialect), translated from Sami or a national minority language, or translated from another language if it's an original work not previously published. The book must be published in the application year. An evaluation committee assesses applications based on literary quality, whether the book is suitable for children and young people as target audience, artistic and linguistic quality, and proper editorial work. Selected books are purchased in quantities of 1,940-2,020 printed copies plus 70 e-book licenses for distribution to Norwegian public libraries.
Musikk og scenekunst – internasjonalt bærekraftprogram
This is an international sustainability program for music and performing arts organizations in Norway, Denmark, and England. The program aims to develop more climate-friendly and inclusive touring and co-production practices while strengthening networks between music and performing arts actors in the three countries. The program has two phases: Phase 1 consists of a free, interactive digital seminar program (for beginners or advanced participants) led by Julie's Bicycle and In futurum, covering topics like sustainable touring, climate impact measurement, circular economy principles, and social sustainability. Phase 2 offers project financing through a closed application round where seminar participants can form partnerships and apply for funding to test sustainable solutions in practice. Projects can focus on artistic production, new distribution methods, or research and development. The total funding available is £120,000, with individual projects eligible for up to £40,000.
Kunst- og kulturforskning – masterstudenter
This grant program supports master's students conducting research relevant to the Arts Council of Norway (Kulturrådet), cultural policy, and the arts and culture sector in general. The purpose is to strengthen research with relevance to cultural policy, motivate master's students to write theses on relevant topics, generate new knowledge, and recruit future researchers. The program awards up to four grants of 20,000 Norwegian kroner each year to support activities such as travel for data collection, purchase of necessary academic literature, participation in seminars, and other necessary expenses related to completing the master's project. Applicants must be enrolled in a master's program, have determined their thesis topic, and demonstrate strong academic performance with potential to pursue doctoral studies. Students with minority backgrounds or minority experiences are especially encouraged to apply.
Insentivordning for ny dramatikk
This incentive scheme is designed to stimulate the performance of new dramatic works in languages for which the state has responsibility under the Language Act. The grant is provided to professional, producing performing arts institutions after they have completed the premiere of new dramatic works for an audience. The program supports the creation and performance of original dramatic works, excluding dramatizations of existing material. Funding covers up to 40 percent of the dramatist's fee. This is a framework-managed scheme, meaning if total allocated amounts exceed the available budget, the grants will be reduced proportionally for all eligible institutions. Applications must include confirmation that the premiere has been completed and documentation of the agreed dramatist's fee.
Forsikring av innlånte utstillingsgjenstander
This grant program assists exhibition institutions in Norway with covering insurance costs for displaying borrowed art and objects from abroad. The program enables institutions to carry out major exhibitions with loaned art and other objects from foreign sources, supporting their important societal mission to the public while strengthening the quality, diversity, and scope of cultural and artistic offerings in Norway. The program covers private insurance for objects borrowed from abroad for exhibitions in Norway, where the objects must have a combined value of at least 50 million Norwegian kroner and be of significant artistic, cultural, or natural historical value. Both publicly and privately owned objects are eligible. The grant provides up to five million Norwegian kroner per exhibition to cover insurance premiums, with exceptions possible for special cases such as major anniversary or opening exhibitions.
Faglige museumsnettverk - treårig
This grant program is administered by Kulturdirektoratet (Arts Council Norway) and is designed to support network activities in museums. The program provides three-year funding to facilitate professional museum networks, enabling collaboration and knowledge sharing among museum institutions in Norway. The grant aims to strengthen the museum sector through structured networking initiatives and collaborative projects that advance professional development and best practices across museum institutions.
Den kollektive oppreisningen til romanifolket/taterne
This grant program provides funding for projects that preserve, develop, and make visible the Romani people/Travellers' language, culture, identity, and history. The scheme is administered by the Norwegian Arts Council (Kulturdirektoratet) on behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. The funding supports initiatives that strengthen Romani culture and history, promote the Romani language, document and disseminate knowledge about the Romani people's situation, and conduct attitude-shaping work. Applications are evaluated based on how the project contributes to meeting the scheme's goals and the applicant's implementation capacity.
Musikk - publisering
This grant supports the recording, release and promotion of new music in Norway. The grant is awarded after publication and aims to contribute to high-quality music being released, documented, made accessible and disseminated. The purpose is to increase awareness of and dissemination of music from Norway and help maintain a broad production of quality releases. The grant covers costs related to recording, release and promotion of music releases across all genres. Applications must be submitted within six months of the release date.
Møteplasser og kulturarenaer for romanifolket/taterne
This grant program provides funding for pilot projects and the development of infrastructure and content that preserves, develops, and makes visible the culture, language, and history of the Romani people/Travellers. The program supports two types of projects: preparatory projects (forprosjekter) for planning organizational structure, operations, and content activities; and development projects for establishing physical meeting places and developing regular activities. Preparatory projects can receive up to 300,000 NOK and should be completed within one year. Development grants support infrastructure such as new construction, renovation of existing facilities, administrative costs, and content including events, exhibitions, advisory services, and language courses. Development projects should be completed within two years. The program aims to establish cultural arenas and meeting places with long-term sustainability, requiring applicants to demonstrate plans for future financing and operations beyond the establishment period.
Utviklingsprogram museer
Utviklingsprogram museer er et tilskuddsprogram som skal bidra til at museene styrker nødvendig kompetanse og utvikler metoder og verktøy for å løse museumsfaglige oppgaver. For perioden 2024-2026 utlyses både et treårig program og et årlig program med ulikt tema for hvert år. Denne utlysningen gjelder ettårig program for 2026. Kulturdirektoratet ønsker med denne utlysningen å bidra til at museer kan gjennomføre kompetansehevende tiltak for å møte fremtidens kulturbruk, publikum og formidlingsformer. Utlysningen tar utgangspunkt i museumskonferansen i 2025 med fokus på hvordan museene med sine viktige roller som kunnskapsinstitusjoner, formidlingsarenaer og forvaltere av museumssamlinger kan møte framtida på nye og treffende måter. Prosjekter som bidrar til refleksjon over museenes rolle og hva museene skal være i framtida er ønskelig. Midlene skal motivere og stimulere til å øke egen forståelse og styrke kompetanse og kunnskap. Det er et mål for denne utlysningen at midlene kan stimulere til ny innsikt og forsterket kompetanse for museene. Prosjekter som er forankret i oppfølging av Sannhets- og forsoningskommisjonens rapport vurderes som positivt, og prosjekter som omhandler arbeid med samiske aktører og nasjonale minoriteter vil bli prioritert.
Prosjekttilskudd til nasjonale minoriteter
This grant program supports projects that preserve, develop, and make visible the language, culture, identity, and history of national minorities in Norway. The program aims to strengthen national minorities' language, culture, and identity, with a special focus on promoting language and identity among children and youth. Eligible projects include those that strengthen and revitalize national minority languages, showcase and preserve their culture and history, gather and share information about national minorities' situations, promote positive attitudes toward national minorities, strengthen their capacity to handle their own challenges, and enhance contact and cooperation between national minorities. Projects must be time-limited with clear start and end dates and must aim to strengthen the situation for national minorities in Norway. The program particularly welcomes projects directed toward children and young people.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 52
- Active Now
- 13
- Source Domain
- kulturdirektoratet.no
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
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