Older people benefit from £159,999 arts funding for creative projects, supported by The National Lottery
14th January, 2025
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced £159,999 funding to support twenty arts and community organisations across Northern Ireland in delivering a series of community-based arts projects benefitting older people. The funding is part of the National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme, a pioneering initiative funded by The National Lottery and Public Health Agency, which aims to tackle loneliness as-well as promote positive mental health and well-being among older people, through engagement with the arts.

The National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme was established by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2010 and is now a cross-governmental partnership with funding also from the Public Health Agency. The programme has been designed to challenge perceptions of what it means to be an older person, empower participants, and give older people a voice. To date the programme has provided over £2m funding to community organisations and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland in the delivery of over 272 arts projects to older people.
Lorraine Calderwood, Programmes Officer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said,
“Thanks to The National Lottery players and the Public Health Agency, we’re delighted to provide funding for another twenty creative projects that will benefit older people across NI. Research has proven that taking part in arts activities can boost health and wellbeing, raising self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as aid in relieving isolation and stress.
The National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for older people to take part in arts activities, enriching their lives for the better. The arts have a vital role to play in helping our older people find their voice, bring people together socially and promote positive physical and mental health - funding from The National Lottery and the Public Health Agency has been a game changer in helping us achieve that.”
Among the successful applicants offered National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme funding are:
BEAM Creative Network, Mid Ulster
Funding amount offered: £7,184
Project title: Young at heart
Young at heART is a creative arts project which will run weekly over six months for 40 older people cumulating in a showcase art exhibition of work in Donaghmore. The project will use mosaic, pottery and tiles, felting, paverpol, fabric manipulation, and printing, acrylic paint, pencils, charcoal, water and oil paint plus reminiscence song writing. Suitable participants will be identified by working closely with Age NI, Alzheimer's Society, doctors, clergy and a carers coordinator.
DU Dance, Ballycastle
Funding amount offered: £7,909
Project Title: Alternative Energies
Alternative Energies is an intergenerational dance project in Ballycastle which brings people of different ages together to meet, create and have fun. The project will offer participants the opportunity to take part in dance workshops and performances, and connect young people to their living history whilst giving older people a voice and a platform to engage socially.
Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast
Funding amount offered: £6,970
Project title: Our City of Stories
Our City of Stories will be a six-month project that creates a time and space for older people to reflect on how Belfast has evolved and changed over the course of a lifetime. The project will support older audiences and reduce isolation and loneliness through a series of creative workshops, using reminiscence about their shared city as a spark for participants to make art, socialise, build confidence and provoke conversation. Using a range of visual art and craft techniques including drawing, painting, embroidery, knitting, collage and clay, participants will reminisce, share stories and discover connections as they make art. All the workshops will be dementia-friendly, with a proportion of them specifically targeting people with dementia in collaboration with the Belfast Dementia Friends network. The culmination of the project will be a celebratory showcase event where participants’ work is exhibited in the gallery.
In Your Space Circus, Derry~Londonderry
Funding amount offered: £8,410
Project title: Silver Circus
Silver Circus is a project supporting people aged 55+ living in care homes in Derry-Londonderry. The project will use circus arts to provide a unique social outlet by delivering group circus sessions. The project also seeks to improve the health and well-being of participants through engagement in physical activity which in turn promotes creativity and resilience. Activities will include juggling, hula hooping, tightwire walking, aerial arts and plate spinning. Circus activities have been proven to promote core strength, cognitive engagement, improved hand-eye coordination, improved mobility and endurance.
Portadown Wellness Centre, Armagh
Funding amount offered: £7,250
Project title: Listen to Us: Music and Drama for the Elderly
This project will be a combined music and drama programme which will provide a safe, creative space where participants can strengthen their voice, express issues that affect them, and build social connections. Workshops will be led by professional music and drama facilitators and will culminate in a final showcase for the local community, where participants can express their shared experiences through performance.
Big Telly Theatre Company, Causeway Coast & Glens
Funding amount offered: £7,452
Project title: Only Me
The aim of ‘ONLY ME’ is to strengthen, share and celebrate the voices of older people in the context of their wider communities. The project will do this by co-creating a piece of forum theatre with a narrative structure led by professional actors, which supports participants to express what's important to them, however they choose - through conversation, storytelling, puppetry and song. Through workshops, discussion groups and rehearsals, participants will grow in confidence and contribute to all the decisions around staging, design, content and tone, creating a memorable performance bespoke and unique to the participants’ lived experience. For the project Big Telly will partner with Radius Housing in three of their sheltered housing schemes across the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area, and will also create a legacy piece in the form of a short film which can be made available to friends and family of the participants.
Beth Johnson Foundation inc Linking Generations NI (LGNI), North Down & Ards
Funding amount offered: £8,014
Project title: Art Across the Ages
This is an intergenerational arts project that will involve older people in care settings and young people in schools and youth groups. LGNI will facilitate age and dementia awareness sessions with young people and a 'get to know each other' session between older and younger participants. The project will culminate with a celebration event to showcase the artwork created and will involve the wider community, family and friends of the participants.
Streetwise Community Circus, Belfast
Funding amount offered: £9,000
Project title: Streetwise Age-ility Circus 25
This project builds on the experience gained through a pilot programme carried out in 2023 that identified the barriers preventing people living in sheltered accommodation from attending circus workshops in the community. The current project will allow Streetwise to continue to expand the programme by reaching out to more people in society living with dementia, giving them the opportunity to engage with Streetwise’s circus workshops taking place across Northern Ireland. To achieve this, Streetwise has developed partnerships with housing providers including Clanmil Housing, Abbeyfield housing and Alpha Housing , Belfast Trust’s Bruce House, as well as community partners running established age-ility groups which run throughout the year, in Belfast, Lislea, Millisle and Whitehead.
View the list of all Arts and Older People Programme awardees
To find out more about Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding programmes visit www.artscouncil-ni.org/funding