THE Arts Council has called on culture minister Carál Ní Chuilín to reverse the latest cuts to arts organisations. During a meeting with Ms Ní Chuilín senior Arts Council members including chairman Bob Collins said the in-year cuts will badly affect arts groups, particularly those trying to bring their work to "marginalised communities". The latest cut slashed arts funding for this financial year by 20 per cent. Mr Collins said arts groups have made an "exemplary contribution" to the north. "Reducing the funding of those organisations without rationale simply defeats the realisation of the objectives to which all… continue reading
Prominent arts organisations in Northern Ireland are bracing themselves for further cuts, after the Arts Council of Northern Ireland suffered an 8% reduction to its funding. The announcement follows a harsh round of reductions in funding in March this year that saw Belfast's Lyric Theatre – regional winner of the My Theatre Matters! search for the UK’s most welcoming venues – and the Mac arts centre each lose £50,000. Both the Mac and the Lyric stand to lose around a further £68,000, a figure the Lyric’s head of marketing Simon Goldrick told The Stage is “just the latest in an… continue reading
Thirty-two of Northern Ireland's biggest arts organisations face immediate in-year cuts of 7% in their funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the BBC has learned. The arts council's own budget from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) was cut by a further £870,000 (8%) last month. It has subsequently found savings of £250,000 from its own operating budget. The remaining £620,000 will be found by cutting grants to its main clients. In a statement, Arts Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said her department was dealing with a "very difficult budget". 'No alternative' "Although I was originally able… continue reading
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) faces an in-year budget cut of approximately 8%, the BBC has learned. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) has written to ACNI to confirm the further cut in its budget. The BBC understands that ACNI will hold an emergency board meeting next week to discuss how to deal with the reduction which will amount to around £800,000. Its annual DCAL funding for 2015/16 was cut by 11% or £1.38m in March and now it has received a further in-year cut. Earlier this year, the department asked ACNI to prepare for possible… continue reading
Following on from NICVA's meetings with the First and Deputy First Minister, in the wake of a number of Departments delivering cuts to voluntary and community sector organisations, NICVA will soon be meeting with the Junior Ministers who have been tasked with assessing the situation across departments for its cumulative impact and liaising with NICVA and the sector on the issue. In order to inform this meeting NICVA are, once again, encouraging organisations that have been affected by cuts to fill in their cutswatch survey. Obviously the more data and information they have, the stronger the case they can put… continue reading
27 March 2015 ArtsMatterNI disappointed at funding decisions #ArtsMattersNI is disappointed at the funding decisions made by the Arts Council for Northern Ireland (ACNI) and confirmed on Monday 23 March 2015. This is despite the 23,000 responses to the DCAL budget consultation opposing stringent cuts to the arts budget. The reduction in annual funding for key arts organisations amounts to £893,576 which is potentially fatal for a sector that already receives the smallest amount of government funding. Of the 115 applications received by ACNI, 87 organisations received standstill funding, while in the current economic climate this can be viewed positively… continue reading
Tourism consultant Michael Williamson points out some of the economic impacts to tourism of the arts cuts on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster show. The relevant section begins at 1.07.25 "there is a very clear link between the arts and tourism" link - www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05n20cj… continue reading
Want to see more? Check out the Belfast Festival at Queens review for 2014 (pdf) 2014 Post Festival Hightlight Video: http://youtu.be/Sy05gsMz80g (more…)… continue reading
http://issuu.com/artsmatterni/docs/7631_festival_2014_review_v5?e=15803641/11664189 Want to see more? Check out these youtube videos from the Belfast Festival at Queen's Youtube Channel www.belfastfestival.com… continue reading