9/12/2003

Arts Council invests in infrastructure

The Arts Council today issued the following statement relating to four major building awards made to organizations across Northern Ireland

The awards, totaling £3.9m, were made to:

An Gaelaras – an award of £650,000 towards a new Cultural Resource Centre at 34 Great St James Street, Derry City

Crescent Arts Centre – an award of £1,200,000 (£1.2 million) towards refurbishment and upgrading of the facility in Belfast

Greyabbey Regeneration – an award of £50,000 towards a new complex of five artist studios in the centre of the village

Lyric Theatre – an award of £2,000,000 (£2 million) towards a new theatre on its current site.

Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said:

“We are very pleased to be able invest so heavily in the cultural infrastructure of Northern Ireland, particularly in Belfast. In addition to our substantial annual support for the Crescent Arts Centre (£95,000) and the Lyric (£545,000), we have been able to respond positively to new plans with what are significant funds.”

Expressing her disappointment that the Lyric Theatre had chosen to respond so negatively to the Council’s offer, Ms McDonough said:

“The Arts Council is concerned with the quality of the arts and with their accessibility to people right across Northern Ireland. Organizations should take heart from the fact the Council is prepared to place such large amounts of public funding at their disposal, and remember that they also have a responsibility to secure funding from the wide variety of sources available to them.”

The awards build on a series of investments by the Arts Council in the arts infrastructure in Belfast, including:

£4m towards the development of a £22m city centre arts centre,

£2 million towards development of the Grand Opera House and

£250,000 to develop the Conway Mill for refurbishment.

“Today’s awards are not isolated interventions. We have been working for some time with the Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure and other partners and agencies in pursuit of our long-term strategy for the arts,” Ms McDonough concluded.

These awards bring the total amount committed by the Arts Council to the arts infrastructure in Belfast over the last two years to £9.4 million. This exceeds the Council’s own projected spend in the city by £400,000. For this latest round of capital funding, the Council had a remaining budget of £4.2m.

The Council has asked the Lyric Theatre to review and discuss its Business Plan with Arts Council staff, in relation to the proposed expansion and organizational structure; to submit cash flow figures relating to the capital project itself; and to reach fully the Royal Institute of British Architects Stage D in the design before the grant can be formally awarded.