Mobility funding is a very broad and extensive field. Our funding database contains numerous programmes that support internationally active artists and cultural workers in a variety of ways (to/from Germany). We also offer further information on funding international activities and a collection of other funding databases.

Note: the funding database is currently being updated and will be available shortly.

Despite careful research, the database does not claim to be complete. The information on the individual programmes is subject to change. Please send us suggestions, additions and corrections via e-mail: info[at]touring-artists.info.

The types of funding included in the database are: 

These include funding programmes and grants for train or plane tickets or other forms of transport in connection with a project abroad, such as self-organised trips for exhibitions or tours. This type of mobility funding is usually structured as outgoing "export" funding - meaning that it is offered at the local, state or federal level at the artist’s place of residence, rather than at the artist’s destination country. Our database focuses on funding programmes for artists living in Germany. Tips on other countries' export funding programmes for travel to Germany can be found, for example, in On The Move's Mobility Funding Guides or from our network partners in the Mobility Information Points working group in the other countries. 

Residencies are organised work stays at a specific location in Germany or abroad, often linked to a scholarship or grant. Our database mainly contains residencies in Germany that offer residencies for artists living abroad, as well as residencies abroad for artists living in Germany that can be organised or applied for from Germany. Detailed information and databases on other residency programmes abroad can be found on this page

In this category, we have grouped together project funding that either supports bilateral encounters between Germany and another country or promotes cultural contacts between Germany and other countries in general, such as cooperation projects between two organisations.

This category includes grants or funding programmes for participation in conferences, workshops, symposia or other further education and training events. 

This category lists support programmes for artists at risk or refugees who are already in Germany or who are planning to come to Germany. The programmes are aimed both at the artists themselves (relocation scholarships or fellowships) and at organisations in Germany that want to apply for funding to work with the target group. 

These funding programmes are aimed at professional visitors to festivals, fairs and industry meetings abroad looking for support for participating at events (accreditation fees), for travel and transport costs or for projects such as marketing measures abroad. 

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I am an artist living in Germany and am looking for funding for a project, stay, or residency abroad.

Make sure to select your federal state (Bundesland) in the "Residence" field so that only those grants are displayed that you can actually apply for. Especially in the area of travel and transport costs, many funding programmes are only intended for artists who live in the respective federal state. When you select a federal state, all funding programmes that can be applied for nationwide are automatically displayed as well. 

We also recommend the following tips for stays abroad: 

• Contact the German Consulate/Embassy abroad and the regional Goethe Institute at your destination. Contact persons at the Goethe Institute for the cultural programmes can be found under the subheading "Staff" in the section "About us" on the website of the respective institute. The Goethe Institutes often pursue their own curatorial goals and therefore have no budget or interest in unsolicited applications, but sometimes there are opportunities for local support or networking. If you have another nationality, you can also ask the cultural institute or the foreign representation of your nationality. 
• Keep an eye on the current calls for applications on the On The Move platform and subscribe to the monthly newsletter. 
• Partnership programmes exist between cities and municipalities in many places. They are also interesting contact points for international projects. In larger cities, there are specific contact persons for the partnership programmes. 
• For visual artists looking for funding for projects such as exhibitions abroad, there is sometimes the possibility of gaining sponsors such as transport companies. For tours in the music sector, equipment or instrument manufacturers can also be approached as sponsors. 
• Projects abroad may also be able to be co-financed through a crowdfunding campaign. 

Our funding database only contains residencies abroad that are specifically intended for artists residing in Germany and are often linked to a grant from German funds. There are many other residencies abroad that you can research in the databases in the residency overview section.

I am an artist living abroad and am looking for funding for a project or stay in Germany. 

In the area of travel and transport funding, our database mainly contains funding programmes for artists living in Germany, as most travel and transport funding is provided by the country or region in which the artists live (export, outgoing mobility). 

Tips on other countries' export funding programmes for travel to Germany can be found, for example, in On The Move's Mobility Funding Guides or from our network partners in the Mobility Information Points working group in the other countries.

If you are part of an organisation and are planning a cooperation project with a partner in Germany, select "Transnational projects" in the "Funding type" field to see project funding for bilateral exchange projects. 

I am an organiser in Germany and am looking for funding to invite artists living abroad to Germany. 

In order to find funding programmes for mobility from abroad to Germany, you can use the database as if you were the artist living abroad: enter "Abroad" in the "Residence" field. 

Travel and transport funding programmes are usually awarded by funding organizations in the artists' place of residence and must be applied for locally directly by the artists. Tips on such export funding programmes of other countries for travel to Germany can be found, for example, in the Mobility Funding Guides on the On The Move platform or from our network partners of the Mobility Information Points working group in the other countries.

However, you can also indirectly support mobility to Germany by applying for project funding for your event or project at the federal, state or municipal level in Germany and by including the travel and transport costs and adequate fees for the artists from abroad in the cost and financing plan. Contact the advisory services for the cultural and creative industries at the state level (in Berlin, Kreativ Kultur Berlin) for further advice on possible funding programmes.

Further tips: 

• There are project funding programmes for exchange or cooperation projects between Germany and other countries. To find these programmes, select "Transnational Projects" in the "Funding Type" field. 
• Keep an eye on the current calls for proposals on the On The Move platform and subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
• Ask the foreign representations of the artists involved if they have funds to act as sponsors or cooperation partners. 
• Partnership programmes exist between cities and municipalities in many places. They are also interesting contact points for international projects. In larger cities, there are specific contact persons for the partnership programmes.

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The following databases and listings can be used for further research on opportunities for funding and support for international projects. Some are interdisciplinary, some address specific disciplines – most of them are provided in German language only.

Handbuch der Kulturpreise (only available in German)

Federal Ministry for Economic Affaires and Energy: funding database (only available in German)

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: Förderfinder

Tanzplan Deutschland: dance support (only available in German)

call for kunst: platform for theatre

German Music Information Centre: information on music support

Kunstbüro, Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg: newsletter

Literaturport: prizes & scholarships (only available in German)

Autorenwelt: information on support (only available in German)

German Federal Film Fund: film support (only available in German)

German Federal Film Board: list of supporters

Film und Medien Büro Niedersachsen: film support in Germany (only available in German)

Creative Europe MEDIA: film support in Germany

Cultural and Creative Industries Initiative: info on financing and support (only available in German)

Förderfibel. Der Ratgeber für Unternehmen und Existenzgründung (only available in German)

Lauri's Liste of Screenwriting Fellowships, Labs, Grants, Contests and Other Opportunities

furthermore ...

On the move: Open calls

On the Move: Funding Guides (country/region specific)

Dutch Culture I Trans Artists

Res Artis

Americans for the arts

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