BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND.- The Arts Council of Northern Ireland today announced plans to rally support in protest against the proposed spending reductions to the arts in Northern Ireland. In response to the proposed budget cuts of 10.4% over the next three financial years, the Arts Council has highlighted the persistent hardship and legacy of under-funding facing artists and arts organisations in Northern Ireland.

Rosemary Kelly , Chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland , explained, “It is a measure of our unwavering commitment to the arts community and of our conviction that the anticipated financial cuts will cause irreparable damage to the sector, and consequently to the region’s prosperity as a whole, that the Arts Council is prepared to take this stand.

As a direct result of decades of chronic under-funding, the arts infrastructure in Northern Ireland is extremely fragile. Any further tightening of our meagre resources will threaten the fabric of our artistic economy. Many of our hard-pressed artists and arts organisations, who already operate on tight margins, will struggle to survive, and the quality and quantity of locally-produced writing, visual arts, theatre and music will suffer.”