Ms Karly Greene:

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the official funding and development organisation for the arts in Northern Ireland. We fulfil broadly similar functions to those of An Chomhairle Ealaíon. At the heart of what we do is a commitment to increasing public access to, and participation in, arts. We want the arts to contribute to the creation of an innovative and diverse society where everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their creative potential. The council’s investment in community arts provides an important assurance that traditionally under-represented communities have the same opportunities as others to enjoy the benefits of the arts. We support the widest possible range of organisations, including support organisations such as: the Community Arts Partnership; the University of Atypical, which supports disabled, D-deaf and neurodivergent people’s involvement in the arts; and others like Beyond Skin and Arts Ekta, which work with refugees and asylum seekers.

Where we identify gaps in service across the region, we intervene with targeted resources. Three current interventions are producing pioneering work in the area of arts and health. The arts and older people programme, the young people and well-being programme and the creative schools programmes each benefit from a pooling of expertise as well as funding, with professional artists introducing new creative dimensions to the work of a range of partners from the Public Health Agency to the Education Authority.

With the review of public administration in 2015, local authorities assumed greater responsibility for the arts in their council areas. However, council spending is under considerable pressure and this additional responsibility has not always been met consistently. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has taken measures to incentivise spending on, and the integration of, arts at the local level. In 2019, we introduced a capacity and resilience programme with the councils in Belfast and Derry and Strabane to support arts organisations to adapt to the changing environments of these growing cities. We also established a deliberative forum for rural communities in 2021 to strengthen the voice of artists and activists. That forum led to the development of the council’s three-year £1.5 million rural arts engagement programme, which is now in its second year.

The lack of a sitting executive in Northern Ireland is undoubtedly impacting on the role that the arts can play in helping to deliver government priorities. However, the single most critical factor holding us back is decades of chronic underinvestment. Northern Ireland’s arts receive the lowest level of government support across these islands, currently standing at just €5.36 per capita. This compares with €25.47 in the South. The Irish Government clearly cherishes the arts and appreciates their value. We can be thankful that the strong historical relationship between the two arts councils on the island continues to be significant as we emerge from the pandemic and experience increasing cost-of-living challenges.We will explore joint initiatives and build on the framework of support that we already offer our jointly-funded clients. The arts in Northern Ireland consistently achieve a level of national and international success whose return far outweighs its government’s investment. We should think of how brilliant, highly-talented, highly-skilled artists are making that money work and imagine the heights we could achieve with even just a little bit more.