Poland

Are you looking for (international) funding? Check our general funding page for different funding guides, grants and open calls, or the digital Cultural Mobility Funding Guide for the Netherlands for regional, private and international (mobility) funding.

In the Netherlands the means for international cultural cooperation are delegated to the national funds. The fund that works for your art form or discipline, has one or several subsidy schemes for internationalisation. To make sure the program fits your project, you can contact the advisors of the fund before starting the process of application.

Design, Creative Industries, Architecture, Digital Culture

Creative Industries Fund NL
> International Vouchers

Visual Arts, Heritage

Mondriaan Fund
> Subsidy for International Art Presentation to present work by living artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Theater, Dance, Music

Performing Arts Fund
> Grants for foreign organisations to invite artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
> Internationalisation grants for artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Audiovisual media, Film, Documentary

Dutch Film Fund
>The Film Fund has several subsidy schemes to support co-productions and distribution (film & documentary).

Literature

Dutch Foundation for Literature
> Translation grants for foreign publishers
> Travel grants

Participation, Education, Communal arts, Cooperations, Projects with non-professionals

Cultural Participation Fund
> Fundings

Heritage

International Heritage Cooperation is part of the Netherlands’ international cultural policy. The embassies of the Netherlands in the partner countries have a budget for supporting local cultural heritage projects. DutchCulture manages a Matching Fund. Dutch legal entities (companies and registered freelancers) are able to apply for partial funding for an international heritage cooperation project.

DutchCulture supports international heritage cooperation between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Europe. The Europe + Heritage programme offers advice, a Travel Scheme (vouchers of €350-€1000) and a General Support Scheme (maximum €5.000) for heritage professionals and heritage organisations based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who wish to visit a European partner, invite a European partner or set up a cooperation with a European partner. Heritage can be both tangible and intangible.

More funds

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency is not a national fund but also offers on behalf of various ministries and the European Union subsidies for companies in the creative industries.

In order to be eligible for financing opportunities, it is necessary to have a Poland based partner. Doing your research beforehand and finding local partners is essential. You can use the DutchCulture Database by simply going to the search option in the upper left corner, and search for ´Poland´ or any city you are interested in. This way you will see which Dutch artists are already active in which areas.

Only people or institutions registered in Poland can apply for funding in Poland unless it is noted to be otherwise. We advise you to ask your Polish partner organization to apply for funding in Poland, at the Dutch Cultural Funds or at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Warsaw. For funding opportunities within Poland, you can check the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the website of Wspolnota Polska. DutchCulture also works closely together with On the Move, where you will find an elaborate mapping of funding opportunities. Check here the Guide to Funding Opportunities for the International Mobility of Artists and Culture Professionals. This guide was updated in 2018 and lists national, local and international resources, be they public or private.

The Embassy of the Netherlands in Warsaw has an extensive network in the local cultural sector and in-depth knowledge of its cultural institutions, organizations and theatres. The Embassy can advise on bilateral cooperation. They function as promoter and supporter of international cultural cooperation and is not operating as cultural fund. The embassy in Poland has access to limited funds for supporting small-scale projects in line with the Dutch International Cultural Policy. The focus of our activities is on organizations rather than on individual artists.

For more information on funding possibilities from the embassy, visit their website.

Creative Europe

Creative Europe (2021-2027) is the seven-year support programme by the European Commission for the cultural and audio-visual sector and consists of two subprogrammes: Culture and MEDIA. The Creative Europe Desk of the Netherlands is part of DutchCulture. Be aware that there are many strict conditions to be considered before applying for this programme. The cooperation also has to consists of at least three European countries, a cooperation between only Poland and the Netherlands is therefore not eligible. Culture Moves Europe provides mobility grants for artists and cultural professionals in all 40 creative Europe countries.

Besides these programmes of the European Commissions, there are more European funding opportunities and within the two programmes, there are different calls and subprogrammes.

Further funding opportunities

These two funding guides can help you on your way:
Fund-finder, Guide to funding opportunities for arts and culture in Europe, beyond Creative Europe (published by IETM in 2019 in English)
EU Subsidiewijzer (published by Creative Europe Desk NL in Dutch)

It is a good idea to discuss with your local partner how promotion of your event / your work will take place and how to engage local professionals and publicists.

Make sure to contact the embassy to let them know about your projects. They are willing to publish about your event on their social media, though you have to send them at least two weeks in advance of the event a short text in English as well as a suitable – free of charge to use – picture to their email adress: war-pcz@minbuza.nl

Do not forget to create a My DC account where you can add your activities to our Cultural Database. This way you will be included in our DutchCulture database and become part of our network.

As for now as an EU citizen, you do not need a visa to work in Poland. If you have a passport from outside the EU, it is wise to check the rules with your country´s representatives in the Netherlands, or you can ask the DutchCulture Mobility Info Point.

Find out exactly what the rules are that a gallery, stage or theatre upholds, before engaging in cooperation. If you find obstacles in your way, you will have enough time to find solutions. Always make sure that your health insurance will cover you across borders.

Through the DutchCulture database, you can find out which artists from the Netherlands have worked at which venues, and start your research there. Go to the search icon on the upper left corner of the website, and search by discipline, country, and city.

For residencies, DutchCulture's TransArtists is a great research tool. In order to successfully build an international career, and in order to find sustainable partners in a country, it is always wise to spend more than a few days somewhere. Residencies, which can last from a couple of weeks up to several months, can help you achieve this.

Overview of some of the most important festivals and cultural organisations in Poland:

Children festival
International Children Theatre Festival Dziecinada in Wrocław 
Biennale Sztuki dla Dziecka in Poznań 

Design
Łódź Design Festival
Gdynia Design Days 

Literature Festivals
Big Book Festival
list of literary Festivals in Poland

Media and communication
WRO Biennale in Wrocław

Museums
list of museums by Ministry of Culture and National Heritage 

Music
list of music festivals in Poland
Unsound Festival

Photo
Fotofestiwal Łódź
Krakow Photomonth 
Polish Paradise is an informal partnership of three photography festivals in Poland: Fotofestiwal in Lodz, Krakow Photomonth, and TIFF Festival from Wroclaw

Theatre festivals
list of theatre festivals 

General
Jewish Cultural Festival in Kraków

Polish culture around the world
Culture.pl
A daily updated website about the most interesting events related to Polish culture around the world. In addition to information about events organized in Poland and abroad, you can find numerous profiles of artists, reviews, essays, descriptions and information about cultural institutions.