Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA (centre), met on Wednesday 27th March with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's Vice Chair William Leathem, CEO Roisín McDonough and Chair Liam Hannaway, to discuss a range of topics regarding the arts sector in Northern Ireland.
Latest News
Arts Council meets with Junior Minister Cameron
Junior Minister Pam Cameron MLA, Chair of the All-Party Group on Arts Sian Mulholland MLA and Danny Donnelly MLA joined representatives of the Arts Council and the arts sector at a pre-show reception before the performance of 'Agreement' at the Lyric Theatre on Wednesday 27th March. 'Agreement', Owen McCafferty’s dramatisation of the last days of negotiations leading to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, has played to over 10,000 audience members in a sold-out run at the Lyric, prior to a run in New York in April/May 2024.
New Advocacy Guide available on Arts Council website
The Arts Council NI has introduced a new Guide to Advocacy section on our website. The guide contains a useful 'How To' toolkit, plus Key Messages, Stats, Case Studies and Insights. We hope the Guide will help everyone who cares about the arts to champion their cause.
Equity calls for the Communities Minister to Save the Arts in Northern Ireland
More than 130 people, including representatives across the arts, cultural, political and public sectors, attended the Save the Arts, Resist the Cuts public meeting in Belfast on Monday 25th March. The meeting, calling on the new Minister to reverse the cuts to arts funding and invest in the arts, was organised by Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union.
Queen's Reading Room celebrates poetry from NI
The Chair of the Arts Council, Liam Hannaway, joined the First and deputy First Ministers at Hillsborough Castle in March for a celebration of important works by some of Northern Ireland’s most illustrious poets, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.
Will the restoration of Stormont benefit the arts in NI?
Arts Council CEO, Roisín McDonough, reflects on what the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland might mean for the arts and cultural sector.
Downing Street reception celebrates NI arts & culture
The importance of culture brought key people from Northern Ireland together within the heart of the UK government. The Chair and CEO of the Arts Council NI attended the No.10 Downing Street event in November to celebrate the arts and to take the opportunity to raise awareness about the positive impact they have on society and economy. #InvestInTheArts
Arts Council presentation at All Party Group on Arts
The Arts Council's Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships, Karly Greene, took the opportunity at November's meeting of the All Party Group on Arts at Stormont to highlight for the politicians the challenges and opportunities for the arts in NI and the investment required to deliver the Arts Council's strategic ambitions.
Latest Insights
Thrive: IMPACT Survey Report
Audience Development organisation, Thrive, has just published an interim report exploring the preliminary findings from their IMPACT survey on who audiences are, how they behave, why they attend and how they feel after attending a variety of artforms. The final report will be published in May 2024.
The Arts Council provides the Department for Communities with robust evidence to support the case for investing in the arts. Our research informs policy development and supports advocating for the sector on a range of important issues. We also contribute to wider research programmes conducted by institutions on the impact of arts and cultural activity upon other sectors.
Annual Funding Survey 2022-23 (October 2023). Findings reveal the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on the arts sector, as it struggles to return to pre-Covid programming and audience levels.
General Population Survey 2022-23 (September 2023). Key findings include: 79% of people agreed that there should be public investment in arts and culture.
We are the national voice for the arts in Northern Ireland, promoting the quality, value and importance of the region’s artists and arts organisations and the impact they make. Our job is to ensure that the contribution of the arts is recognised by the range of stakeholders, from Government and policymakers, to investors and wider society.
