How Artists Can Find International Mobility Funding Through On the Move

On the Move is a free information platform for artists and cultural workers who want to work internationally. To find funding, start with its country and regional funding guides, which cover permanent grant schemes, then check the open calls section for supported opportunities where at least some travel costs are covered. If you need advice on visas, social security, or taxation, look for a Mobility Information Point in a participating country.

What On the Move offers

The site is run as a resource hub rather than a grantmaker. It does not award funding itself; it helps you locate schemes and opportunities run by others. Its main sections are:

The site also publishes news, articles, and a monthly newsletter featuring calls for residencies, grants, and collaborations.

Step 1: Search the funding guides by destination

Funding guides are organised by country and region and focus on permanent grant schemes — recurring programmes rather than one-off calls. This is the right starting point if you are planning a project months ahead and want to know which public or institutional funders regularly support outbound mobility from your country or into a destination region.

A practical approach:

1. Identify your destination country or region.
2. Open the matching guide and note schemes that fit your discipline and career stage.
3. Check each scheme's own page for eligibility and deadlines, since the guide summarises rather than administers them.

On the Move also publishes thematic guides, such as a French-language guide on international mobility funding focused on French overseas territories, published with the support of the French Ministry of Culture. If you work in French, a dedicated French-language resources section is available.

Step 2: Check open calls for deadline-driven opportunities

Open calls differ from the general funding guides in two ways: they are time-limited, and they are described as always covering at least some of the costs of travel. That makes them the better entry point if you need a specific opportunity now rather than a recurring scheme.

Listings on the site include the opportunity type, format (in-person or hybrid), location, and deadline. Examples from the site's current listings include:

• Culture Moves Europe: Call for Individual Mobility 2026–2027 — residencies with multiple deadlines across late 2026 and 2027.
• CircusDanceFestival 2027 360° Shorts (Germany) — presenting work, with deadlines in October and November 2026.
• After the Single Use: Research Residencies 2027 — hybrid residencies, deadline 23 October 2026.
• Sanford Underground Research Facility: Artist-in-Residence 2027 (USA) — in-person residencies, deadline 1 November 2026.
• Communauté de communes du Clermontois: Artistic and Cultural Education Residencies 2027 (France) — in-person residencies, deadline 25 October 2026.

You can filter calls by artform, including visual arts, performing arts, music and sound, literature, digital and new media, architecture, and cultural heritage.

Step 3: Use Mobility Information Points for the practical side

Funding is only one barrier to working abroad. Mobility Information Points provide free advice on visa regulations, social security, taxation, and other subjects in the countries where they operate. If your funding is secured but you are unsure about permits or tax obligations, this is where to look before committing to travel.

Step 4: Subscribe and search resources

The newsletter is sent once a month and features calls for residencies, grants, and collaborations. Subscribing is the simplest way to avoid missing deadlines without checking the site manually. The resources section adds reports, guides, videos, and publications if you want to understand how mobility funding works across the sector, not just find a single grant.

Common sticking points

• Confusing the platform with a funder. On the Move points you to schemes; applications go to the scheme organisers.
• Relying only on open calls. Calls are seasonal. If nothing fits your discipline right now, the funding guides show recurring schemes you can plan around.
• Skipping the practical checks. A residency offer does not resolve visa or tax questions; use the Mobility Information Points early rather than after accepting.
• Assuming coverage. Open calls guarantee at least some travel costs are covered, but the extent of support varies by opportunity, so read each listing's own terms.

Where to start

If you have a destination and a rough timeline, begin with the funding guide for that country or region. If you need an opportunity with an upcoming deadline, go straight to open calls and filter by artform. In both cases, confirm details on the organiser's own page before applying.