Borough creatives share in Arts Council £2.7m recovery funding

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, on behalf of Department for Communities (DfC), recently announced details of £2,711,816 of recovery funding for 1,433 individuals working in the Creative Economy across Northern Ireland.

Forty-eight of those offered funding were from the Mid and East Antrim area.

Among those individuals offered funding in the Mid and East Antrim area was Lorna Shannon. Textile artist, Lorna, from Ballymena, will use her £2,000 CIRP funding to develop her skills in silk weaving. Having spent time learning the basics of silk weaving thanks to previous Arts Council NI funding the artist is now planning to develop her understanding of setting up the loom and weaving with silk. With the funding, the artist will create a limited edition run of four large silk shawls that will embody the colours and patterns of the North Antrim landscape and will be displayed in the new gallery space at Stone Row Artisans. This project will involve a five-day visit to Beth Moran where Loran will learn skills of warping, threading and sleying the loom.The Creative Individuals Recovery Programme (CIRP), was designed by the Department for Communities and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and was launched by Minister Hargey in September. The programme offers grants of up to £2,000 each to help creative individuals to undertake activity linked to their practice or art form.

The objective of the programme is to help artists and individuals deal with the costs involved in maintaining and enhancing their creative trade, vocation or profession. The strategic aim however, is to prevent NI talent from leaving the creative economy, and instead, encourage individuals to stay and grow their practice while contributing to the health of our social and economic eco-system.

The CIRP fund supports one-off costs associated with their arts practice, and funding to build their professional and technical skills, particularly as so many have been negatively impacted as a result of lockdown and the pandemic restrictions.

Minister, Deirdre Hargey, Department for Communities, said: “We cannot afford to lose our creative talent and it is vital that we safeguard the sector for the future.”