Arts Council £51,000 awarded to fund community projects

Supported through National Lottery funds, the Small Grants Programme is designed to encourage organisations in Northern Ireland to get more people to engage with the arts through creative, community-based projects. Grants are awarded by the Arts Council on a monthly basis and organisations can apply for up to £10,000 to support projects in any art form, including music, drama, dance, literature, visual, and participatory arts.

One of the organisations awarded funding is St Colmbs Park House in Derry/Londonderry. The award of £7,310 will support an Artists in Residence scheme. Artists Gemma Walker-Farren and Sorcha Shanahan, who together perform as the MakeyUppers, will be artists in residence at St Columb’s Park for 12 months (August 2022-July 2023). During that time they will help to deliver four key events and engage in a range of outreach activities.

Sharon Doherty, Manager of St Colmbs Park House, commented:

“St Columbs Park House are delighted to welcome the Makey Uppers as our first Artists in Residence. This opportunity supported by the Arts Council for Northern Ireland allows us to connect our communities to their shared green spaces and natural environment in a creative and innovative way. We are very excited to work with the Makey Uppers and to present bespoke performances that link the arts, peace building and diverse communities in our shared space”.

Commenting on funding programme, Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said:

“This month we have awarded funding through our Small Grants programme to support nine fantastic projects, creating more opportunities for people to engage with the arts, from grassroots level projects through to professional productions. Thanks to National Lottery players and the money raised for good causes, this valuable funding programme will support a variety of high quality arts projects in locations across Northern Ireland, including performances, workshops and mentoring opportunities.”

In JULY Small Grants Awards were awarded to:

The St Anne’s Trust, awarded £4,000, for their project Education through Music
The St Anne’s Trust are planning a range of activities over the next year. These include a Come & Play day in May 2023 with special needs schools. The Choir of the Year Competition will also take place involving 450 school children and the Trust is also hoping to expand its outreach activities and build on the positive work that has taken place through its Annual Carolfest. Plans are also in place to undertake additional activities with local primary schools and through a scholarship scheme to provide young people with an opportunity to develop their musical and performance skills, regardless of their social, cultural or religious background.

Armagh Old Boys Band, awarded £8,400, for their project Foddens in Armagh
Armagh Old Boys Brass Band Summer School will return in August for a week long music programme with tutors from Fodens, one of the finest brass bands in the world. Two bands will be formed based on experience to rehearse a repertoire of varying levels of music and challenged to create a concert programme which will be performed at the end of the summer school week. The week will consist of band rehearsals, sectional practices and finale concert. Armagh Old Boys will also host a gala weekend of brass band music with the Fodens Band in September. This will involve soloist workshop performances with the Fodens Band open to all participants from across Northern Ireland and Ireland allowing tips and best practice to be shared among everyone.

iBbY Ireland, awarded £3,730, for the Leabhair Go Leor! Conference
The Leabhair Go Leor! Conference will be a day of lectures, discussions, and workshops facilitated by leading writers, illustrators, translators, and editors of children’s books in Irish, delivered in Irish and English, to be inclusive and attractive to parents, educators, library staff and community leaders and anyone else working with and supporting children speaking or learning Irish. The majority of the artists and facilitators involved in the day are from Northern Ireland. All are leading practitioners in their fields. Included among the speakers is the CEO of An tSnáthaid Mhór, a Northern Ireland publisher leading the way in producing award winning children’s books in Irish. The day will finish with a presentation by Áine Ní Ghlinn, current Laureate na nÓg.

St Columbs Park Reconciliation Trust, awarded £7,310 for their Art in the Park – Artists in Residence programme
St Colm’s Park Reconciliation Trust plan to engage artists Gemma Walker-Farren and Sorcha Shanahan, who together perform as the MakeyUppers, as artists in residence at St Columb’s Park for 12 months (August 2022-July 2023). During this time, the MakeyUppers will design and deliver four key events relating to the seasons/nature in order to engage people of all ages and abilities in ‘Art in the Park’.

Focus, awarded £5,446 for Omagh Goove and Samba
Focus will create a community music programme that will target young people living with disabilities, members of the BAME communities, young people in local primary and secondary schools and the wider community. The project will see the creation of a samba band, masterclasses with professional musicians, mentoring sessions and a Grand Concert Finale for the local community to attend.

Bready and District Ulster Scots Development Association, awarded £7,390 for Scot Dance NI Jubilee Celebration
Working in six groups, choreographers will mentor dancers to help develop their skills during training sessions in August and September for the Scot Dance NI Jubilee Celebration. Each of the six sections will then be performed and filmed in a different county in Northern Ireland. It is hoped that the final filming day would take place at Royal Hillsborough, where the dance can be performed in its entirety.

South Bank Playhouse, awarded £5,000 for Billy Boy
South Bank Playhouse has been awarded funding to stage Rosemary Jenkinson’s Billy Boy, about young bonfire builders in East Belfast. The solo show will be performed by John Travers (15 years of experience touring theatre productions with Tinderbox, C21, Brassneck and Replay etc). The funny, moving and thought-provoking production is based on interviews with bonfire builders and challenges negative perceptions of young people involved in bonfire building in East Belfast. The show will be performed at EastSide Arts Festival (in The Vault) and Feile an Phobail in West Belfast (An Culturlann), before travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Vault Artists Studios, awarded £8,250 for its Summer Festival in a Day
Building on the success of Vault Fringe (2019), (C)Art Park (2020), and Car Park Sessions (2021), Vault Artists Studio will hold a one day festival at Vault Artist Studios (VAS) in August 2022. This event will transform VAS into an exciting festival hub, showcasing the performance, visual art and creative skills of its 130 members, in celebration of Belfast art. Studios will become performance and workshop spaces, larger rooms will become stages for music, theatre and circus, and corners of the building will be used in new and inventive ways.

Londonderry YMCA Ltd, awarded £1,950 for The Art Demo project
The Art DEMO project will provide the opportunity for approximately 90 young people, aged 5-18, the chance to develop their creative flair and imagination through music, graffiti, and art workshops. The project will engage young people from areas of social and economic deprivation and rural communities, who have had limited opportunities to engage in the arts. The Art DEMO project will improve young people's personal capabilities, improve thinking skills and enhance their confidence and self-esteem working to bring change through learning and creativity.

Funding from the Small Grants Programme is awarded to organisations by the Arts Council on a monthly basis. Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/funding/scheme/small-grants-programme