Initial funding from Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme (NPA) awarded for Mycelium networking project

Mycelium will develop and promote sustainable business models for SMEs, start-ups and micro-businesses which are working in the dance sector and are situated in remote, sparsely populated areas.

Working in collaboration with Dance Arena North from Norway and the Regional Dance Centre of Ostrobothnia from Finland, we have been awarded funding by the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme (NPA) to undertake a preparatory project. The purpose of a preparatory project is to develop the ideas for Mycelium, to examine the needs among stakeholders and to build up transnational partnerships.

Creative organisations situated in remote, sparsely populated areas are often isolated and economically fragile, yet it is well known that they can boost local economies and improve quality of life through their cultural offer, and through realising the potential of place-based cultural product development.

We will identify ways in which contemporary dance can be used as an intervention for common social, economic and environmental challenges, and how such interventions can be translated into alternative income streams for SMEs to reduce their reliance upon grant aid.

The aim of the project is to develop & promote new sustainable business & marketing models in order to:

  • Gain access to new markets
  • Export niche-market products
  • Strategically attract new customers
  • Utilise technology for greater market reach

We believe that exchange and inspiration from other, more product-focused sectors will benefit our reach with an international market. We are currently conducting conversations with a number of organisations and stakeholders to facilitate this knowledge exchange between sectors & organisations, and identify which conversations are worth pursuing further during the main project.

A full application will be submitted in October with a decision expected in early December 2019.