International Support for Galleries and Independent Exhibition Spaces (ISGIES)

• Norwegian galleries and independent exhibition spaces that are invited to participate in one of the listed art fairs
  
  
• Norwegian art book publishers that are invited to participate in one of the listed art book fairs

Eligibility requirements for galleries and independent exhibition spaces
Applicants must present at least one Norwegian or Norway-based contemporary artist at one of the international art fairs included in the list of eligible art fairs. Artists involved in the operation of the gallery are not included in this minimum requirement.

The ISGIES scheme does not cover Kunsthalles, art societies, art centres, or individual artists.

Eligibility requirements for art book publishers
Applicants must present at least three publications about or featuring Norwegian or Norway-based contemporary artists at one of the international art book fairs included in the list of eligible art fairs. Of these publications, at least three must be registered with an ISBN. Publications that present artists involved in the publishing company are not included in this minimum requirement.

The ISGIES scheme does not cover individual artists working with printed matter. However, they are eligible for travel support through OCA’s International Support grant scheme when presenting their self-published artistic work at art book fairs.

Category 1

ARCO, Madrid
Art Basel, Paris
Art Basel, Basel
Design Miami.Basel
Design Miami.Paris
Frieze London
TEFAF Maastricht

Category 2

Art Basel Hong Kong
Art Basel Miami Beach
Design Miami
Design Miami.LA
Frieze Los Angeles
Frieze New York
Frieze Seoul
Independent, New York
TEFAF New York
The Armory Show, New York
Zona MACO, Mexico City

Category 3

Art Brussels
Art Cologne
Art Dusseldorf
Art Monte-Carlo
Art Rotterdam
Artissima, Torino
CAN Madrid
Ceramics Brussels
CHART, Copenhagen
Collect, London
Collectible, Brussels
Drawing Now, Paris
Enter Art Fair, Copenhagen
Frame, Munich
June Art Fair, Basel
Liste Art Fair Basel
Market Art Fair, Stockholm
Miart, Milano
London Craft Week
London Original Print Fair
NOMAD Circle
PAD London
PAD Paris
Paris Internationale
Paris Photo
Photo London
Révélations Grand Palais, Paris
SWAB Barcelona
The Salon by NADA and The Community
Unseen Amsterdam
Vienna Contemporary
Volta Basel

Category 4

Art Toronto, Toronto
AIPAD, New York
Art Collaboration, Kyoto
Art Dubai
Art Taipei
ArtBo, Bogota
ArteBA, Buenos Aires
SP-Arte, São Paulo
Dallas Art Fair
ESTHER, New York
Expo Chicago
FOG Design+Art, San Francisco
Future Fair, New York
India Art Fair, New Dehli
KIAF Seoul
NADA, Miami
NADA New York
Material Art Fair, Mexico City
Salón ACME, Mexico City
SALON Art + Design, New York
SCOPE, Miami
Tokyo Gendai
UNTITLED Art Fair, Miami
Volta New York

Category 2

LA Art Book Fair, Los Angeles
New York Art Book Fair
Sharjah International Book Fair
Tokyo Art Book Fair

Category 3

Arles Books Fair at Rencontres d’Arles
CHART Book & Print Fair, Copenhagen
Miss Read, Berlin
Offprint London
Offprint Paris
Polycopies, Paris

Support is provided for:

• Art fair or display fee (including additional fees for walls, lights, etc., provided by the fair)
• Art transport (including specified/separate transport of books)
• Art insurance
• Travel and accommodation for staff and artists (maximum application amount: NOK 30,000)

Support is not provided for:

• Per diem
• Local travel
• Information or promotional material
• Documentation
• Production and installation costs
• Insurance agreements that cover more than the specific fair period

Costs that are not supported will need to be removed from the application budget.

Applications may be submitted in English or Norwegian and must be submitted using the form available on OCA’s profile on the application platform eApply.

If an application has been received but is not complete, the applicant must submit the missing material within 48 hours after it has been requested by OCA’s administration.

Required material for the application

• A formal invitation letter from the fair.
• A complete list of the artists that will be presented at the fair.
• Descriptions of the plans and goals for the participation.
• A budget containing a detailed breakdown of the costs applied for.

Budget requirements

• The application budget should present a realistic budget estimate for participation at the fair. The applicant must later document the costs with receipts and accounts in the report.
• The budget should only include costs that are within what can be applied for from ISGIES.
• The budget must be stated in NOK.
• All costs stated in the budget must be broken down and explained.
• Corrections to the budget must be made within 48 hours after being requested by OCA’s administration.
• If support is provided from other grant schemes, this must be stated in the application and the budget.

An application may be rejected on administrative grounds if:

• It does not meet the application requirements set out in these guidelines
• The project has opened or been finalised before the deadline for the application round.
• The report for a previously granted project is missing past its deadline, or there are unsettled claims for repayment.
• The necessary application requirements, such as a budget or invitation, are missing or incomplete and has not been corrected within 48 hours after being requested by OCA’s administration.

Applications must be submitted before the fair opens. The application year and total budget are divided into two semesters. The first application deadline for the Spring semester (January – June) is 10 December 2025. The first application deadline for the Autumn semester (July - December) is 10 June 2026.

Applications are accepted and processed in the following application rounds:

Spring semester (January – June):

10 December

10 February

10 April

Autumn semester (July - December):

10 June

10 August

10 October

Support from the ISGIES scheme is prioritised within a framework of predefined criteria.

Complete and accepted applications received within the deadline of an application round will be processed by OCA’s administration. Grants will be allocated according to the priorities determined by the grant scheme's criteria.

Applications will be processed in application rounds throughout the year until the budget is exhausted.

Applicants will receive a reply within three weeks after the deadline for the round in which their application is processed.

Applications are prioritised based on the following criteria in the following order:

1. The priority level of the art fair applied for
   The list of eligible art fairs is divided into four priority categories. These categories are assessed based on quality, relevance and geographical location in accordance with the scheme’s purpose of stimulating participation in major art fairs. The grant scheme prioritises applications for fairs with a higher ranking.
   
   
2. New activity and development
   Galleries participating in a Category 1 or 2 fair for the first time will receive priority. Priority can be given for up to three consecutive years in case of continued activity in these two categories.
   
   
3. The applicant’s activity in Norway
   Applicants with regular exhibition and publishing activities in the last 12 months will receive priority. For galleries and independent exhibition spaces, applicants who have had a physical exhibition venue during the previous 12 months will also receive priority.
   
   
4. Extent of art from Norway in the presentation
   This is based on an overall assessment of the number and proportion of artists and artworks by Norwegian or Norway-based artists. Prioritisation will only be made when a comparison is possible.
   
   
5. Time of submitted application
   If two or more applications are equally prioritised according to these criteria, the application that was submitted first in its complete form will be given priority.

An overview of the four priority categories of art fairs is available in the complete list of eligible art fairs. OCA and NC will produce and revise the list of eligible art fairs annually. The list is completed by 1 October the previous year and will be available at www.oca.no and www.norwegiancrafts.no.

ISGIES support can cover costs related to the four categories described under ‘What can be supported’. These are the only eligible costs that can be applied for. The budgeted costs for these supported categories make up the total application amount. Up to 70% of the total application amount and up to NOK 30,000 for travel and accommodation can be supported through the ISGIES scheme, while the remaining amount must be covered by the applicant. OCA calculates the support based on the approved costs in the budget estimates.

Example

If the total application amount for costs that OCA can support is NOK 150,000, the maximum grant that can be awarded is NOK 105,000, which is 70% of the application amount. This is given that the application and the amounts fulfil the remaining requirements for the scheme and that the application is prioritised for funding.

Grant recipients must document all costs with receipts after the fair. If, after participating in a fair, a granted applicant’s expenses are less than the budgeted amount that forms the basis for OCA's calculations, OCA will recalculate the correct amount of the grant. The difference between the original and the correct amount must be repaid to OCA. Please see the guidelines on reporting for more information.

Furthermore, these limitations apply:

The maximum amount that can be granted for a single application (one fair participation):

• Fairs in category 1 and 2: NOK 400,000
• Fairs in category 3 and 4: NOK 200,000

The maximum amount that can be granted to an applicant within a calendar year:

• NOK 400,000
  

An applicant can receive a maximum grant of NOK 2,000,000 over a period of three calendar years, as determined by the de minimis aid regulations.

Budget restrictions:

Participations in fairs that take place in the first semester (January – June) are supported by the budget for the first semester, while participations in fairs that take place in the second semester (July – December) are supported by the budget for the second semester.

Any remaining funds from the first semester will be transferred to the second semester, and likewise, any remaining funds from the second semester will be transferred to the following year.

The budgets for either of the two semesters may be exhausted at any time throughout the year. Only fairs that take place in a semester with an available budget remaining can be supported. Both budgets may be exhausted at any time throughout the year, and the scheme will close for the year.

If you wish to appeal an individual decision made by OCA regarding grants or administrative assessments, the appeal must be submitted in writing to OCA within three weeks of receiving the decision. The complaint should be justified based on the information that OCA has used concerning the specific decision. Only errors in administrative decisions and decisions based on incorrect facts can be appealed. If the conditions for processing the complaint are met, OCA’s administration may either reverse the decision or forward the complaint to OCA’s and NC’s Boards. OCA’s and NC’s Boards are the appeal bodies. The decision of the appeal body is final and cannot be appealed further.

The grant is earmarked for the specific fair participation and the eligible costs within the grant scheme. If the project is cancelled or postponed from the dates stated in the application, the applicant must notify OCA immediately.

If the grant is not spent in compliance with the terms and conditions of the agreement, OCA can withhold or reclaim the grant in part or in full.

This can happen if:

• The project is cancelled
• The grant has been spent outside the categories that ISGIES can support
• There is no satisfactory accounting or documentation of how the funds have been spent
• The grant recipient provided OCA incorrect or misleading information or concealed facts that significantly impacted the grant decision, amount, or terms of the grant

As a condition for this support, OCA requires that credit be given by using the name or logo of Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) or Norwegian Crafts (NC) in all printed materials, invitations, press releases and web-related material released in conjunction with the fair participation that has received support.

Applicants operating in the field of contemporary art and participating in a contemporary art fair must credit OCA, while applicants operating in the field of contemporary crafts and participating in a contemporary crafts fair must credit NC.

Find the OCA logo here:
https://oca.no/grants-residencies/international-support-for-galleries-and-independent-exhibition-spaces-isgies#logo-download-18

Find the NC logo here: https://dropbox.com/scl/fo/d1expqen6ujqvx8ubr2kv/AJcIgPcu0H8n0Po0bfXNIDU?rlkey=dnly7l2xdef7pswa13mu71cnm&e=1&dl=0

When you post about your project on social media, you can mention OCA by name or tag @oca_norway (Instagram) or Office for Contemporary Art Norway (Facebook)

Please note that OCA may publish the names and projects of successful applicants, along with images from applications and reports on various non-commercial platforms, including the OCA website, newsletter, and Annual Report.

To request grant payment, you must submit a payment request through the application platform eApply.

Grants may be transferred after they have been awarded. The applicant is responsible for and obligated to keep OCA informed of the correct project dates. This is important for the payment, the report, and the possibility for OCA to follow up and publish communications about your project.

Report requirements:

• Project accounts that show how the grant was spent and the total costs within the categories supported by ISGIES.
• The accounts must be stated in NOK.
• Receipts documenting the costs stated in the accounts.
• All receipts in currencies other than NOK must be accompanied by bank transfer documentation confirming the correct amount transferred in NOK.
• Visual material documenting the participation at the fair.
• Physical or digital versions of promotional material.

The report must include accounts that outline the final costs within the criteria and categories that can be supported. The costs must be documented with receipts. All costs must be explained and specified.

Based on the accounts, OCA will make new calculations and confirm that the applicant spent the total amount stated in the budget on eligible cost categories and in accordance with the scheme’s criteria. Amounts for which receipts are missing cannot be accepted and will be excluded from the new calculation made by OCA.

The ISGIES grant can cover a maximum of 70% of the total eligible costs incurred. If the final documented expenses are lower than those outlined in the application budget, which served as the basis for calculating the grant, the recipient must repay the difference between the original and the correct grant amount as calculated by OCA. Grants must be repaid within 14 days of notification from OCA’s administration.

Example

The total application amount for costs that OCA can support was budgeted at NOK 150,000, and the application was awarded NOK 105,000, which is 70% of the total application amount. If, after the fair, the total amount spent on costs that OCA can support is NOK 130,000, the correct grant amount of 70% will be NOK 91,000. The grant recipient must then repay the difference of NOK 14,000 to OCA.

Promotion material
Applicants are required to send documentation of printed material related to the supported fair to OCA. This can either be done by including digital copies in the visual material that is to be uploaded in the report or by sending two copies of physical material to:

Office for Contemporary Art Norway
Re: ISGIES / Report
Ref.nr.: [your reference number]
Nedre gate 7
0551 Oslo, Norway

OCA will not accept new applications to the support scheme if a final report from a previous project is outstanding past its deadline or if there are unsettled claims for repayment.

Registration of personal data, GDPR. Art. 5

To apply for support, it is obligatory for applicants and participants named in the project to register personal data for OCA to check that the application terms are met and the assessment of the application.

The applicant must register all data themself. The applicant may ask for corrections, deletions and limitations of parts of the data they have registered after the assessment of the application.

Archiving of personal data, GDPR. Art. 13

The personal data that applicants provide in the application will be archived in eApply to provide a historical account of the applicants to this support scheme without any time limit. Previously received applications and support from OCA are included in the information that the OCA administration might access within the application assessment process. OCA employees and IT personnel responsible for the technical platform have permanent access to all data stored in eApply.

Applicants can ask for access to and rectification or erasure of parts of this data after the assessment of the application

Data on all applicants will be used for developing statistics for the evaluation of the support schemes and for other cultural-political purposes, without any links to the names of the applicants.

All have the right to complain to The Norwegian Data Protection Authority if the data controller of Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Nedre gate 7, 0551 Oslo. Telephone: 23233150, uses personal data stored in eApply in conflict with what has been being stated here.

Publishing of personal data, GDPR. Art. 6, no. 1, letter b

Those who are granted support must fill in a payment request to have the granted amount paid.

This obligatory payment request is an agreement between the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) and the participant(s) or institution(s) being given support. It is based on the assumption that Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) is granted the right to convey data on whom the support is granted to, the main person(s) in the project, the description of the project that the support was granted for, the timeline for the project and the amount granted – without any time limit.

The Office for Contemporary Art Norway’s (OCA) mission from the Norwegian Government is to promote and professionalise Norwegian participation in international collaboration within visual art.

The support is provided by public means, and it is important that the allocation of the support is transparent.

Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) executes a public function and must in retrospect be able to document how the institution has attended to this assignment by audit.

History

The guidelines were established by KUD in 2015. Revised in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. The current guidelines apply from 19 November 2025.