The Arts Council has announced £110,000 to enable 12 arts organisations in Northern Ireland to deliver a series of community-based arts projects benefitting older people.  The funding is part of the Arts and Older People's Programme, a pioneering initiative supported by National Lottery, Public Health Agency and Baring Foundation, which aims to tackle loneliness as well as promote positive mental health and well-being among older people through engagement with the arts.

To date the programme has provided just under £2m funding to community organisations and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland in the delivery of 196 arts projects to older people.

The Arts Council has published findings from its annual survey of 97 arts and culture organisations in receipt of funding through its Annual Funding Programme. The survey collects data on organisation staffing, financial statements (income and expenditure), numbers of performances, participation-based events, exhibitions and festivals. It also records details of known and estimated audiences.

Key findings include:

• Income overall fell by £3.4 million among the 97 organisations surveyed.
• Organisations in receipt of AFP funding created 6.2 million individual engagement opportunities in 2019/20

Applications to the Dormant Accounts Fund NI are now open. The programme will support the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Northern Ireland to be more resilient and prepared for the future by funding activity that increases capacity and sustainability. Up to £100,000 is available for individual organisations. There is currently no deadline for applications. 

Dormant accounts are UK bank and building society accounts that have been untouched for 15 or more years, and where banks and building societies are unable to trace the customer who owns the account.

The Arts Council has rounded up just some of the fantastic creative activities and performances you can enjoy online, most of which are funded by the Arts Council, the Dept for Communities and the National Lottery.

New highlights include: 
Out To Lunch Festival features 'A Taste of Belfast in Brussels, showcasing a selection of artists from NI online on Tue 19th Jan at 1pm.  
Belfast Music Society celebrates its centenary with a poem by Michael Longley, dedicated to the memory of former BMS Music Director Pamela Rogers. The poem, 'Key-Changes', plus Michael Longley's fond memories of BMS concerts, is now available on a YouTube.

Creative Europe is the EU's programme to support the cultural, creative and audio-visual sectors. i-Portunus is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme and a consortium headed by Goethe-Institut with Institut français and IzolyatsiaMobility. 
 
i-Portunus funding supports artist mobility and international collaborations. This second phase of the i-Portunus mobility scheme will focus on artists, creators and cultural professionals in Music, Literary Translation, Architecture and Cultural Heritage. 
 
UK based artists remain eligible for this opportunity.
 
Funding will support short term mobility that focuses on international collaboration, professional development and production oriented residencies. This can be physical mobility but also virtual or blended mobility variations where needed.
 
The UK Creative Europe Desk closes on 31st March 2021.

Keep up to date with the latest Coronavirus updates from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, including a list of potential funding sources which might be helpful to artists and arts organisations at this time. We will update this list as we go along. 

If you know of any other sources, please contact us at and we will share with the sector.