Arts Council Rallies Artists to Fight Cuts

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland today announced plans to rally support in protest against the proposed spending reductions to the arts in Northern Ireland.

In response to the proposed budget cuts of 10.4% over the next three financial years, the Arts Council has highlighted the persistent hardship and legacy of under-funding facing artists and arts organisations in Northern Ireland.

Rosemary Kelly , Chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland , explained, “It is a measure of our unwavering commitment to the arts community and of our conviction that the anticipated financial cuts will cause irreparable damage to the sector, and consequently to the region’s prosperity as a whole, that the Arts Council is prepared to take this stand.

As a direct result of decades of chronic under-funding, the arts infrastructure in Northern Ireland is extremely fragile. Any further tightening of our meagre resources will threaten the fabric of our artistic economy. Many of our hard-pressed artists and arts organisations, who already operate on tight margins, will struggle to survive, and the quality and quantity of locally-produced writing, visual arts, theatre and music will suffer.”

The Arts Council has responded to the public consultations to impress upon Ministers the need to exempt the arts from impending cuts proposed for certain areas of the budget of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). If the proposed cuts go ahead, the arts in Northern Ireland face the bleak prospect of losing £1.5 million over the next two years. This reduction of Treasury-allocated funds from £14.5 million in 2004 to just £13 million by 2006 will directly impact on funded organisations who are ill equipped to absorb such reductions.

The arts continue to be under-funded in Northern Ireland when compared with other regions of the United Kingdom. Latest financial projections for 2005/6 demonstrate that central government support for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland lags far behind the other parts of the UK. As a result of the proposals contained in the spending plans, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland will receive £6.33 per capita, which contrasts sharply with England (£8.28), Wales (£7.95) and Scotland (£7.95).

Opposition from the arts community to the threatened cuts is both widespread and intense. At a meeting of artists and representatives of arts bodies at its headquarters on Friday 3 December, the Arts Council galvanised support for its campaign to lobby government and to raise awareness about the plight of the organisations in the sector.

The arts play an important role in the creation of a civilised society in Northern Ireland, but they also demonstrate to the world that we are substantial contributors to creative and intellectual life nationally and internationally. The impact that the arts and artists from Northern Ireland have made on the world stage far exceeds what might be expected from a small region. Theatre companies and the Ulster Orchestra have achieved international success, helping to draw the attention of the world to the creative resources of Northern Ireland and our unique sense of culture and identity.

David Byers, Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra, said, “The Ulster Orchestra is very conscious of the effects that these proposed cuts will have on the arts sector in general. We know the damage they will cause to large organisations like the Ulster Orchestra. It will mean loss of jobs and will negate and undermine the artistic excellence which has been developed over the past decades. If we are so worried about this, how much more difficult will it be for the small organisations in the Voluntary and Community sectors, who have little or no hope of absorbing such cuts. The arts are frequently dependent upon these organisations to support access to the arts for all. Surely voluntary and community arts groups and people with disabilities should not be targeted in public spending cuts?”

Heather Floyd, Director of the Community Arts Forum , added, “Access to the arts is not a privilege or bonus – it is a fundamental right of every man, woman and child in Northern Ireland. This cut will make it impossible for that right to be realised, particularly for the most disadvantaged and excluded individuals and communities within our society, depriving them of the positive influence that the arts have had across Northern Ireland. If we want a truly inclusive society that recognises, values and celebrates the talents, cultures and experiences of everyone, then we must stand firm against these cuts.”

Northern Ireland is a society in transition. The arts are part of a wider process of social, political and economic change and have an important role to play in building a new Northern Ireland.

Martin Lynch, one of Northern Ireland’s celebrated playwrights said, “ Northern Ireland has to change. By now, everyone knows that. We are currently in the process of shedding an old skin and creating a new one. What will that new skin look like? Besides political stability, the most important contribution to that new skin will be a cultural one. It is through the vehicle of arts and culture that we will tell the word who we are going to be.”