Seamus Heaney HomePlace hosts Mid-Ulster writing workshop helping communities combat rural isolation

Watch the Arts Council NI video taken at the workshop below.

The Seamus Heaney HomePlace, an arts venue based in Bellaghy in Mid-Ulster, hosted a writing workshop with published author and poet Maura Johnston recently. Participants spent the day writing under the theme of place. The project was supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery REAP programme.

REAP aims to provide an integrated, cohesive approach to the needs of rural communities by improving access to the arts and enhancing personal wellbeing for local people. The overarching theme of the Arts Council established programme is to tackle isolation and loneliness in rural areas, and with the help of professional artists and arts practice, promote social inclusion.

Cathy Brown, Arts Programmer, Seamus Heaney HomePlace, commented, 

“We were delighted to host this workshop by esteemed local poet Maura Johnston. The Arts Council’s National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme (REAP) funding has been a game changer for rural arts and is part of a much wider programme of arts events for the local community here in Mid-Ulster.

REAP has funded a series of events since last October at HomePlace, including online workshops for people who can't physically get here. We've also had a series of film screenings for families, and we have lots more coming up in the next few months, including Geppetto, a family theatre show, which is also supported by REAP.”

Maura Johnston is a well-known poet and writer from Moneymore, a local/rural area in county Derry-Londonderry. In 2019 she published The Whetstone, her acclaimed collection of poetry and in 2020 she produced a glossary of Seamus Heaney’s hearth language entitled From Aftergrass to Yellow Boots. Her poems have featured in numerous respected journals and have been broadcast on radio. She is also an accomplished writer of short stories and is much in demand as an adviser and facilitator on writing projects and as a tutor for creative writing groups.

Maura’s REAP supported workshop allowed participants the opportunity to explore ways of connecting with places that influenced them and reflect on the things which connect particpants to each other and to the past including customs, language and experiences.

Maura Johnston, poet, writer and workshop facilitator, added, 

“I think writing workshops are a wonderful opportunity for people to think about themselves and where they came from, and it gives them a sense of value of themselves, and particularly in rural communities, where the chances to do this are very few and far between. So, this opportunity was just life-enhancing for a lot of people.”

Noirin McKinney, Joint Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, added,

“The Arts Council of Northern Ireland was delighted to make this funding available to Seamus Heaney HomePlace through the National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme. We know that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, boost confidence and motivation, as well as alleviate isolation and loneliness.

Thanks to The National Lottery players, the National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme has supported 135 arts projects in rural areas with total National Lottery funding of £898,780 since its establishment in 2022. National Lottery REAP funding has been making positive impacts in these rural communities by increasing opportunities for people to participate in meaningful arts activities, enriching their lives for the better. The Arts Council believes that the arts, and coming together as communities, can make a vital contribution to building wellbeing, confidence, and healthy, integrated communities.”

For more information of what’s on at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace visit www.seamusheaneyhome.com and for information on arts funding opportunities visit www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding