Top Artist Residencies in the Nordic Countries
For any artist seeking their next opportunity to travel for work, Europe’s Nordic region should definitely be on your map. Comprising Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, this region is renowned for its spectacular landscapes, dramatic contrasts between long summer days and dark winter nights, and its strong cultural infrastructure with a deep-rooted commitment to supporting the arts.
If you’re considering heading north for your next adventure, let this guide help you discover which residencies are the best fit for you.
Læsø AiR | Artist Residencies & Fellowships
Læsø AiR invites international artists to participate in a 12-week residency, while Nordic artists are invited to take part in a 6-week and 4-week residency.
The residency offers artists the opportunity to develop new and meaningful relationships — both with each other and with the local community on Læsø — while experiencing the island’s unique nature and the legacy of two renowned artists, Per Kirkeby and Asger Jorn, who previously spent time here.
Location: Læsø, Denmark
Rewards: Accommodation, private studio, and monthly allowance of €1000
Image: Læsø AiR
FABRIKKEN | International Residencies
FABRIKKEN’s International Residency programmes are aimed at furthering artistic practices and careers. Residencies with FABRIKKEN are between one and three months and are all fully funded through generous partnerships with other foundations and institutions.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Rewards: Private studio, shared accommodation, travel grants and stipends depending on program
Image: FABRIKKEN
Art Hub Copenhagen | Art Hub Residency
Art Hub Residency is both for recently graduated artists and others, for whom the residency programme could make a difference in terms of establishing and expanding their practice nationally and internationally. Usually the residency runs for five months and is open to visual artists who are citizens or residents of EU countries.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Rewards: Studio, a monthly fee, and a programme of development and feedback based on the needs of each individual artist.
The Container Academy. Photo: Hampus Berndtson
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Artica Svalbard | Funded Residencies
Artica Svalbard and the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) invite visual and performance based artists from around the world to apply for funded residencies in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. This opportunity provides artists with the time, space, and resources to explore new ideas, engage with the Arctic environment, and contribute to meaningful cultural dialogue.
Location: Svalbard, Norway
Rewards: Workspace, stipend and funding to support travel and accommodation.
Image: Artica Svalbard
Rangøya International Cultural Centre | Residencies
Rangøya island is 500 meters long with seven homes. The Cultural Centre is situated in what was once the main building of the fisherman’s farm and encompasses the western part of the island. The Centre hosts artist residencies for writers, translators, and other creative practitioners. It is specifically designed to create a meeting place between nations,.
Location: Rangøya, Norway
Rewards: Accommodation & workspace
Image: Rangøya International Cultural Centre
Kone Foundation | The Saari Residence
Located in a culturally and historically significant countryside setting, this Residence offers an excellent and inspiring working environment for artistic development and creativity. The residencies are intended for individual professional artists and artist duos, fiction writers, poets, translators, composers, curators, critics and artistic collectives of all disciplines and all nationalities for the purpose of carrying out a project proposal presented in advance.
Location: Mynämäki, Finland
Rewards: Accommodation & workspace
Image: The Saari Residence
HIAP | Helsinki International Curatorial Programme 2026
Helsinki International Curatorial Programme (HICP) offers one-month residencies for contemporary art curators. The HICP curators-in-residence will live and work at HIAP’s international residency site on the island of Suomenlinna, a 15-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Helsinki. Curators are provided with individual assistance and networking support tailored to their project or research.
Location: Suomenlinna, Finland
Rewards: Accommodation, workspace, working grant, travel allowance, and more.
Image: HIAP
Quilt Academy of Sweden | Artist Residency Art ‘n Fiber
This international artist residency for textile artists residing in Europe, is a unique opportunity designed to foster individual creativity and encourage international collaboration within the textile and fiber arts community. The residency is open to professional textile/fiber artists, or individuals with a compatible active artistic commitment.
Location: Uppsala, Finland
Rewards: Accommodation, workspace, working grant, travel allowance, and more.
Image: Region Uppsala
Art Inside Out | AIO Residency
Every year, Art Inside Out invites national and international contemporary artists to two of Halland’s municipalities. Taking departure from selected locations and locally anchored themes, Art Inside Out hosts artist-in-residence that gives artists opportunity to develop their practices in open and exploratory processes and through the production of new site-specific art works.
Location: Halland, Sweden
Rewards: Accommodation, workspace, working grant, travel allowance, and more.
Image: Art Inside Out
Nes Artist Residency is an international multidisciplinary residency established 2008 in Skagaströnd, a small village in Northwest Iceland. The studio at Fjörubraut 8 was once the fish processing plant of Skagaströnd. Now one of the largest residencies in Iceland, Nes currently hosts between 90-120 artists per year, accepting applications year-round. There is a fee to attend.
Location: Skagaströnd, Iceland
Rewards: Accommodation, workspace,
Image: Nes Artist Residency
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