Grants for local arts groups

Among those to be awarded funding are North Coast Trad, The Glens Wellbeing Group and Ballintoy Young at Art.

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.

Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: “Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and the money raised for good causes, this valuable programme is supporting a huge variety of high quality arts projects, proving that sometimes a small investment can have a tremendous impact.”

Small Grants Awards were made to:

North Coast Trad - awarded £5,980 for its project ‘Trad Music’.

This funding will be used to help North Coast Trad provide weekly traditional multi-instrumental classes, sessions and concerts in Portrush and Portstewart.

The project will promote the traditional arts in the North Coast and help build a legacy of traditional arts participation in the north coast area.

The Glens Wellbeing Group - awarded £3,760 for its project ‘Handmade with Love’.

The funding will be used to support a 20 week arts and craft project, which will include watercolour painting, lettering and graphic design.

The group will produce crafts and gifts, participate in the local Cushendall community festival in August and stage an end of project showcase, displaying their work.

The project will tackle social isolation and support positive mental health.

Ballintoy Young at Heart - awarded £4,386 for its project Small Art Big Heart.

This visual art project will introduce participants to a range of skills, including watercolours, collage, lettering and mixed media.

Small Grants funding from the Arts Council will help support the costs of artist lead workshops this summer and autumn.

The project has been created in recognition of the power of the arts to address social isolation and loneliness and the importance of staying connected with each other.