artscouncil-ni.org The Arts Council of Northern Ireland welcomes the Minister’s announcement that she has successfully secured additional funding resources for the arts in the November monitoring round. The Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure has been able to confirm that £620,000 will be allocated to the Arts Council to reinstate grants to the 32 organisations affected by earlier in-year cuts. We appreciated greatly the opportunity to meet with the Minister in October when we conveyed the Arts Council's and the sector’s deep concerns at the impact of the in-year reductions. There will be a sense of relief shared by… continue reading
allianceparty.org Alliance South Belfast MLA Anna Lo has welcomed the reinstatement of funding for a number of arts organisations after the Culture Minister restored money to the Arts Council. Ms Lo was speaking after Carál Nί Chuilίn announced the passing of an Assembly budget meant £620,000 would be given to the organisation, which will subsequently feed it out to groups such as the Lyric Theatre, MAC, Grand Opera House and Ulster Orchestra. The Alliance MLA said arts groups deserved praise, after their lobbying for the funding to be restored over the past number of months. "The affected organisations… continue reading
News Letter. The announcement of a £620,000 funding package to boost 32 arts organisations has been welcomed by the Arts Council – with a further £320,000 going to Sport NI. Many local arts bodies and projects have been severely affected by budget cuts over the last financial year. The new funding has been provided by the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) after the money was reallocated by the finance department during the NI Executive’s November monitoring round. A spokeswoman for the Arts Council said the money would be used to “reinstate grants” to organisations who had grants withdrawn.… continue reading
By Robbie Meredith. BBC News. Recent funding cuts to 32 of Northern Ireland's biggest arts organisations have been reversed after the Stormont executive's November budget. The groups had been told they would lose 7% of their planned funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. But after this month's budget, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) said £620,000 would be restored to the Arts Council for the groups. Culture Minister Carál Nί Chuilίn said she was "delighted" to offer the money. Those who will benefit include the Lyric Theatre, the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) and the Grand Opera… continue reading
Arts Matter NI is delighted and relieved by this week’s news that Carál Ní Chuilín, the Minister for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, has been able to reinstate funds of £620,000 to the arts budget, part of the November Monitoring Round reallocation of funds. It was this most recent in-year funding cut that led to Arts Matter NI organising a rally at Stormont on Tuesday 3rd November. The rally protested against employment loss, job insecurity, the skills exodus and the end of much valued programmes delivered to disadvantaged communities right across Northern Ireland. Good news as… continue reading
Niall McCaughan Chief Executive Officer of The Playhouse in Derry being interviewed on Breakfast Radio Foyle. Interview starts at around 35 minutes. Click on the image… continue reading
by DeadBeatCreative. It’s 4am on Wednesday 4th November. Tuesday was a long day, varied, though pretty exhausting in the end. The morning saw an attempt to resolve some client work ahead of a meeting for their creative branding. That was indeed a failed attempt as for whatever reason, I simply couldn’t apply my skills. The daily struggle. From there, I went to a meeting with my studio mate, Emic, hopeful that the result would mean some slight recognition, perhaps, and give our privately ran space, LOFT, a boost moving forward, not that we’d ever count on it.… continue reading
by Adrian Rutherford. Belfast Telegraph. Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín has faced fresh accusations of diverting money to "pet projects" over a £900,000 grant to an Irish language initiative. The award to the Liofa campaign was cited during a heated Stormont committee meeting which looked at funding cuts to the arts. DUP MLA William Humphrey questioned why money had been allocated at a time when other groups were facing severe cuts. The Arts Council has seen its funding reduced by £870,000 because of a £10m shortfall facing the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. Ms Ní Chuilín has faced… continue reading
By Joanne Sweeney. Belfast Telegraph. Fionnuala Kennedy from MACHA Productions slammed Caral Ni Chuilin and retaliated with the same charge, accusing the Sinn Fein minister of turning her back on communities. In an open letter, which she published on social media yesterday, she angrily reacted to what she claims as the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) minister's bias against certain sections of the arts. Ms Kennedy also took a swipe at Sinn Fein, the minister's party. The arts community has felt particularly besieged and affected by the severe budget cuts which have affected the Arts Council for Northern… continue reading
Belfast Telegraph. Culture Arts and Leisure Minister Caral Ni Chuilin has appeared before the Culture Committee. The Sinn Fein minister was questioned about cuts to her budget and on allegations surrounding the funding of the Feile an Phobail festival and other events. The minister was quizzed about how her department distributed a cultural fund which was set up two years ago. Unionists have demanded answers after it emerged the bulk of the money was spent on projects in north and west Belfast. It was suggested that the minister favoured projects on the nationalist side of the community, however, she dismissed… continue reading