Lottery win for local arts groups
Arts groups in Northern Ireland are this week celebrating a lottery windfall, with £121million invested in art projects here since the first National Lottery draw 18 years ago.
The Construction of iconic arts buildings like the Lyric in Belfast, Alley Arts Centre in Strabane, Millenium Forum in Derry, Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart and Braid in Ballymena,have all been made possible thanks to funding awarded through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery funds.
Every week National Lottery players raise over £30million to help change people’s lives across the UK, with funding going to support arts, health, education, heritage and sports projects, which simply wouldn’t otherwise take place. Since it launched in 1994, more £909 million has been invested in Northern Ireland based projects.
As one of four distributors of good causes money in Northern Ireland, the Arts Council has awarded almost 4,000 project grants, helping to shape the country’s cultural landscape beyond recognition.
Community arts groups, musicians, poets and painters have all benefitted from the good causes funding generated through the National Lottery, helping to develop and support arts activities in our towns and cities. As well as landmark sculptures including Rise and the Big Fish, and key cultural events like the Belfast Festival at Queen’s and this year’s biggest outdoor event Land of Giants.
Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, says National Lottery funding has made a real and lasting difference to arts provision here: “When we go to a theatre, read a book by a local author, or see a great work of art, often it’s National Lottery funding which has helped to take that creative idea and turn it into a reality.
“The Arts Council’s long term vision is to bring art into the heart of our communities. 18 years on from the first National Lottery draw we are several steps closer to realising that dream. Every person living in Northern Ireland now has access to a dedicated arts facility within a 20 mile radius of their home. While projects like the Re-imaging Communities Programme, the Arts and Older People funding programme and the Small Grants scheme, have helped make the arts accessible to all. Those things simply wouldn’t have happened without Arts Council National Lottery funding.”
For more information contact Sarah Coburn, email: scoburn@artscouncil-ni.org or telephone: 0787 284 0996
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Monday 20 May 2013
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