Projects have become the naturalized form for organizing teamwork within several sectors in society, including the arts. However, the unintended consequences of the inherent logic of projects, specifically their reliance on small, goal-oriented teams working together for short periods to reach unique, specific results, are often overlooked. This study explores the impact of Nordic cultural funding’s reliance on the project form, focusing on its effects on collaboration, creativity, and the sustainability of the resulting work. Projects supported by the Nordic Culture Point and the Nordic Culture Fund must meet specific criteria, including cross-border collaboration and the expression of a “Nordic dimension.” Drawing on 18 interviews with grant recipients across the Nordic countries and autonomous regions, the research addresses key challenges: the necessity of “becoming” a project manager; the “greediness” of projects, which take over other parts of life; “project sickness,” where socially engaged initiatives abandon participants once funding ends; and the “rifting” of creative work where material cannot be reused due to the pressure to create unique content for the next project cycle. The study raises critical questions about the sustainability of project-based funding models, both within the Nordic context and as a broader framework for cultural funding.