Arts Council's statement in response to Chancellor's extra £1.5 billion for the arts |
The Chancellor's announcement is most welcome and we are delighted that the arts and cultural sectors in Northern Ireland are to get lifeline support worth £33 million; it signals just how important the arts are to our economy, to our society and to our mental health and wellbeing.
We must view this injection of support against the context of the dire need the arts sector faces and the creative practitioners who work in it. The Minister for Communities is aware of the size of the need within the sector and the near decimation experienced by those working in it. As the primary funding and development agency for the arts, the Arts Council has estimated that the funded sector in NI is facing an estimated initial loss of box office income of £25 million, while Arts organisations have identified an initial deficit total of £5 million this year alone. We are aware too of the needs of our partners in local authorities which run arts and cultural venues as these have also been seriously affected. |
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Arts Council Funding Programmes: |
Support for Individual Artists Programme - General Arts Awards Project assistance, travel grants and residencies Deadline: Friday 24 July at 4pm Small Grants Programme This scheme is open for projects commencing 1 September 2020 onwards. Assisting organisations to deliver arts projects which contribute to the growth of arts in the community. Provisional Funding Programme Schedule (June - August 2020):Commissioning Programme for Creative Innovation, August 2020Details will be announced on Arts Council website and social media. Arts Council officers are available to offer advice to anyone who is considering making an application. Arts Council Staff List. |
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Arts Council of Northern Ireland welcomes new Board Members |
Communities Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, has announced the appointment of six new members to the Board of the Arts Council following an open competition. The new members to the Board are (with biographies): Miss Julie Andrews, Mrs Lynne Best, Mr Liam Hannaway, Mr Sean Kelly, Ms Una McRory and Mr Máirtín Ó Muilleoir. The Minister also agreed to a new open competition for the appointment of a Chair, Vice-Chair and further members to the Board, with further details to be released over the coming months. |
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Baring Foundation launches 1st funding round to support arts and mental health organisations |
The Baring Foundation is offering grants to established organisations in the UK that focus solely on offering creative opportunities to people of any age living with mental health problems using the skills of professionally trained artists. The Foundation envisages making grants of £12,000 £15,000 each. The final grant awarded will depend on the level of demand. This is the first funding call in what will be a long-term commitment to funding arts and mental health. Application deadline: 18 August at 12pm midday. |
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Free arts activities to help everyone stay well at home |
As more and more artists and arts organisations from Northern Ireland go digital to connect with audiences staying at home, the Arts Council has rounded up just some of the fantastic creative activities and performances you can now enjoy online! You can watch the Arts Council's Head of Community Arts & Education, Gilly Campbell, with her weekly roundup on NVTV here. |
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Arts Care 4U Art Box Road Trip |
Arts Care has been delivering bespoke Art Boxes to designated Residential Older People's Units in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts and to the NI Adult Hospice. The Art Boxes have been designed by Arts Care artists, dancers and musicians and are full of arts materials based on the activities their artists have facilitated on the Arts Care 4U Youtube channel. Arts Care wants to hear from anyone who could offer help in the future by way of donating materials, packing boxes or delivering materials. |
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Exquisite 240 year old Italian violin is presented to new Ulster Youth Orchestra Leader, Jamie Howe |
Exceptional young violinist, Jamie Howe, aged 18, from Lisburn, has been announced as the new Leader of the Ulster Youth Orchestra (UYO), and has been presented by the Arts Council with the Milton Violin, an exquisite 240 year-old instrument made by renowned Neapolitan violin maker, Joseph Gagliano, to be played throughout his tenure as leader. Watch Jamie playing the instrument here. |
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The Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's announces Laura Scott as the 2020 Poetry Prize winner |
Laura Scott has been announced as the winner of the 2020 First Collection Poetry Prize for 'So Many Rooms' (Carcanet, 2019). The Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize is part of the Seamus Heaney Legacy Project, a joint fund established by Queen's University Belfast and the Arts Council, supported by Atlantic Philanthropies. The Poetry Prize is awarded to a writer whose first full collection has been published in the preceding year, by a UK or Ireland-based publisher. The winning writer receives £5,000. |
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Arts Council COVID-19 advice |
Keep up to date with the latest Coronavirus updates from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, including a list of potential funding sources which might be helpful to artists and arts organisations at this time. We will update this list as we go along. If you know of any other sources, please contact us at and we will share with the sector. |
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Support for Individual Artists |
The Arts Council has opened its Support for the Individual Artist Programme (SIAP) and is accepting applications for General Art Awards. Artists of all disciplines and in all types of working practice, who have made a contribution to artistic activities in Northern Ireland for a minimum of one year within the last five years, may apply. Application deadline: 24 July 2020 at 4pm. |
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