£10,000 towards Artist in Residency scheme in ABC Borough
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon councillors have accepted a Letter of Offer from the NI Arts Council for a £10,000 grant towards the cost of engaging an artist for a 12-month Artist in Residency Programme.
As it is a pilot scheme, it is hoped the experience will prove fruitful, and that it will lead to more arts initiatives of this type in the future.
The matter was discussed at the latest ABC Economic Development & Regeneration committee meeting.
The relevant agenda item stated: “In October 2025, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland requested local authorities to submit expressions of interest regarding its Artist in Residency Programme.
“A submission was issued by officers, and a Letter of Offer has been received for £10,000 to support a programme in the ABC Borough.
“The Artist in Residency programme aims to support an artist to develop their own practice, while working with a range of communities and schools through creative experiences and activities.
“The residency will provide the artist with financial and technical support, including a dedicated studio space, if required, and access to professional facilities.
“This will allow the artist space, time and resources to develop their own work, while engaging deeply with communities across the ABC borough.
“By placing a professional artist at the heart of local life, the programme will create opportunities for participants who may never have engaged with the arts before.
“Activities including weekly workshops, artist talks and demonstrations will allow both the participants and the artist to develop skills week by week, exploring new techniques, fostering confidence and building trust within their group and with each other.
“The Artist in Residency programme will provide a professional and supportive environment for a 12-month residency, where the selected artist can advance their own practice while fostering meaningful connections with communities, particularly those in rural areas and outside the main population centres in our borough.
“The residency will enable the artist to deliver a diverse programme of activities that reflects their practice and responds to local needs within the ABC Borough.
“These activities will include creative workshops for schools linked to the curriculum, alongside intergenerational learning and cultural exchange, interactive sessions with community groups, and individuals, offering hands-on experiences in visual arts, crafts, music, drama, creative writing or digital media.
“The artist will be encouraged to focus on working collaboratively with participants to co-create artworks that celebrate local identity and stories, providing opportunities for dialogue and inspiration.”
Proposing the recommendation to accept the Letter of Offer from the Arts Council, Councillor Paul Duffy (SF), asked: “Would it be a local artist, or could the artist come from anywhere?”
Venue & Programme director (Marketplace Theatre), Vincent McCann replied: “The artist can come from anywhere, but they will have to be based here during the course of the residency for at least two days a week.”
The recommendation to accept the Letter of Offer was seconded by Councillor Thomas O’Hanlon (SDLP).
He commented: “In relation to the arts, it’s not defined, you could have bids coming from people involved in visual arts, performing arts, music, that sort of stuff, so it could be right across the spectrum. That’s great.”
Councillor Joy Ferguson (Alliance) asked: “It’s really good to see this come through. Where would this artist be based in ABC? Would this chosen artist also showcase their art within ABC as part of this residency, which would be normal practice under residency?
“I think it would be really helpful, it shows an output at the end of a residency, as well as the good community work that happens with resident artists.”
The Venue & Programme director replied: “The exact location hasn’t been defined. That will probably depend on what the art form is, as to whether they require studio space, or if it’s someone working for instance in literature, they might need somewhere quieter, so we will define that once the artist has been selected.
“It’ll be ongoing displays, but certainly there will be something at the end of the programme. This will be a pilot year, the intention is that there will be similar programmes running in concurrent years afterwards, with a similar sort of focus.”