Largest Lottery Grant To Date Goes To Omagh
£4 million for a major arts centre in Tyrone
£2 million for arts centre in Ballymena
The Arts Council today announced two major National Lottery Capital awards to assist with the provision of arts venues and performance spaces across Northern Ireland. Omagh and Ballymena join Armagh, Cookstown and Derry City in the artistic and economic regeneration of our communities with the arts as a catalyst for development.
Omagh District Council was awarded a grant of £4 million towards a new dedicated arts centre for the town.
Ballymena Borough Council was awarded a grant of £2 million towards a new performance venue/arts centre which will complement a new museum complex being developed on the same location.
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In making the announcements, Professor Brian Walker, Chairman of the Arts Council, again called for an increase in the Council’s annual revenue grant aid which has remained virtually at the same level for ten years. "It is clear," he said, "with new venues being planned and opened, transforming the arts and economic infrastructure across Northern Ireland, that there is an obligation on government to ensure the sustainability of such progressive ventures. This cannot be ensured by current levels of revenue funding."
