Northern Ireland prioritises access

A universal right of access to and participation in the arts for everyone is at the heart of a new five-year strategy for the arts in Northern Ireland. Aiming to redress “the unequal access that is a universal inheritance”, the Arts council of Northern Ireland’s (ACNI) ‘Ambitions for the Arts’ strategy encourages the arts sector to demonstrate how it provides inspirational arts activities through education and outreach work “to those for whom access to the arts has not been easy”. The strategy sets out to tackle “evident inequalities in the extent to which arts are available to all, especially amongst those who feel marginalised, isolated and voiceless”, including the “digitally excluded”, who will be the subject of a dedicated focus. A clear statement of priorities is given, setting out ACNI’s aspirations and vision for the future for the arts sector under three strategic themes – championing the arts, promoting access, and building a sustainable sector.

Making a compelling case for the value of the arts is seen as key, and as part of that, ACNI proposes giving greater recognition to artists and practitioners through an ‘acknowledgment system’ of awards for outstanding achievements. Furthermore, an economic appraisal will be undertaken to assess the feasibility of a dedicated gallery that will “establish our credentials as a global centre for the visual arts” and show the indigenous collections of Irish and Northern Irish art.

To promote access, ACNI will be extending its ‘Building Peace Through The Arts – Re-imaging Communities’ programme, and running a series of targeted initiatives aimed at older people, ethnic minority artists and groups, disabled people, and children and young people. With local government rationalisation set to replace twenty-six districts with eleven, and the introduction of a new statutory community planning process, ACNI is also prioritising the building of better networks and partnerships, and supporting the new council areas to develop dedicated arts strategies.

The third theme – building a sustainable sector – responds to arts organisations’ concerns about funding over the next five years, and the “structural instability” faced by many working in the sector, which is leading to “a lack of capacity to delivery visionary work”. Recognising that public funding cuts are likely to be the pattern for the foreseeable future, the emphasis of the strategy is on “promoting greater collaboration between organisations to increase efficiency and innovation, and strengthening business models to diversify their income streams”. A joint initiative with An Chomhairle Ealaion, Ireland’s Arts Council, has seen the development of a new all-Ireland touring scheme, which is enabling arts organisations across all genres to tour to venues in both the north and south.

Carál Ní Chuilín, Minister of Culture Arts and Leisure, has welcomed the strategy, saying: “My department is committed to harnessing culture, arts and leisure to promote equality and tackle poverty and social exclusion and that is a theme which can be seen reflected in this strategy.” She continued that, despite difficult economic times, it is important that “the arts have the same status in the same way that others have in other departments and that each of us owns it and that when it comes to protecting front line public services that the arts are right up there with the rest”. But her comments coincide with the announcement of Northern Ireland’s 2015/16 draft budget which “prioritises what is important to the people of Northern Ireland”, and under which the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, which already receives the smallest of all departmental budgets, faces a 10% cut to its £100m budget. The Permanent Secretary has written to the Department’s arm’s length bodies, including ACNI, to ask how they would deliver such a cut. The budget is likely to be finalised in January 2015, and the impact on the arts will be known shortly after.