News - NI funding crisis looms

A chorus of disapproval has broken out in Northern Ireland following the announcement by the Assembly of its Draft Budget. The criticism is led by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI), which has called on the Assembly to rethink its budget allocation for the arts. ACNI has issued a statement asserting that, after three consecutive years of standstill funding, the arts stand to lose a further £1.3m over the next three-year funding period and this does not take into account the impact of inflation, which could reduce these funds by another £3m.
Rosemary Kelly, Chair of ACNI, called the budget incredibly bad news for the people of Northern Ireland, and said that the projected allocation would be tantamount to sounding a death knell over large areas of arts activity here. She added that the settlement would not even allow us to stabilise core organisations, whose future may now be in jeopardy, and that important developmental work may also be threatened. ACNI, which hands out grants ranging from £150 to £2m, has already been forced to close important funding programmes and de-prioritise funding to local authorities. Ms Kellys view that the arts in Northern Ireland have reached a critical point in their history is echoed by many voices in the sector. A year ago, in anticipation of the budget, the lobbying group Invest in Inspiration brought together a number of arts organisations to campaign for a rise in the annual arts budget in NI from £6.13 to £10 per capita, bringing it in line with the other UK nations. A statement issued by Brenda Kent of Voluntary Arts Ireland on behalf of Invest in Inspiration said, The budget is absurd. On the one hand it sets a target to grow the creative industries by 15%, while with the other it slashes investment in the very people and organisations that would make this happen. It announces investment of £119m in the cultural infrastructure whilst at the same time pulling the rug out from under the arts activities needed to make the buildings work. A ten-week consultation process follows from the publication of the draft, and ACNI has pledged to continue to campaign with the Invest in Inspiration group and the arts sector.