Derry rally: arts funding protest at government office

This morning, Equity held a rally outside Northern Ireland government offices in Derry, calling on the Minister Gordon Lyons and his Department for Communities to increase funding for the arts across Northern Ireland. 

Over a hundred members were in attendance at the North West Development Office, holding placards, waving Equity flags, and chanting “Save the arts, resist the cuts!”.

Among the speakers was Gemma Walker-Farren, an Equity member and associate artist of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company – which revealed it had lost all of its Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) funding last week) – who said:

“[At Echo Echo] I found my voice as an individual artist and I realised that I have something important to say as an individual artist from Derry, and that I can say it in Derry... It's not about chasing fame, it's not about chasing status, and it's not about moving all over the world to try and get work. It's about building a creative life here and building a community here that works, and modelling how community building can work across the community, across all sectors.”

Equity members are in Derry for their annual conference this year, which is running from Saturday 10 - Monday 12 May. One of the motions passed unanimously by Equity delegates was to campaign to increase arts funding in Northern Ireland (full motion text below). The rally outside the Department for Communities offices was also the first outing for Equity’s new Northern Ireland banner, unveiled at conference. 

Equity has been campaigning to ‘Save the arts, resist the cuts’ in Northern Ireland since the Department for Communities announced cuts in 2023. The Department imposed a 5% cut on ACNI, against a backdrop of a 50% cut when adjusted for inflation since 2011/12, as reported by ACNI.

The industry in Northern Ireland is still awaiting a decision from the Minister for Communities on the forthcoming ACNI budget. Equity fears that a much-needed increase will not materialise. Just last week,  Derry’s Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company revealed that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) had decided to cut all of their annual funding, while the city’s Waterside Theatre & Arts Centre has shut after a similar full cut last year. 

In 2023, ACNI reported that Northern Ireland received the least arts funding per capita of all the UK’s four nations, at just £5.07 (it’s nearest comparator, Wales, received £10.51).

Alice Adams Lemon, Equity Official for Northern Ireland, says: “The Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons' 'Letter of Expectations' to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in February highlighted, amongst other things, the areas in which the Minister felt funding ought to be distributed. With no extra funding announced, what can the Minister expect ACNI to achieve? What’s more, his stipulation that ‘any activity disrespectful of any tradition, in locations or by groups receiving Council funding, results in specific and substantive action as regards funding’ is concerning and raises questions around the right to freedom of expression for artists in Northern Ireland.”

Motion text in full

Conference notes –  

• the vital role that the arts play in enriching society, promoting mental well-being, supporting education, and sustaining thousands of creative jobs across the UK; 

• Arts Council Northern Ireland (ACNI) provides essential funding to arts organisations, many of which operate on very limited budgets but deliver significant benefits to communities; and 

• recent cuts and funding pressures threaten the survival of many such organisations in Northern Ireland. 

Conference further notes – 

• Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company in Derry has been informed that they will not be provided any of their expected annual funding from ACNI; 

• in 2024 Derry’s Waterside Theatre & Arts Centre shut due to issues resulting from having lost its expected annual funding from ACNI; and 

• the loss of ACNI funding in Derry city reflects the wider problem of ACNI provision in Northern Ireland. 

Conference believes – 

• that arts organisations must be protected to ensure cultural equity across all nations and regions of the UK; and 

• that supporting organisations which engage performing artists on fair terms and conditions aligns with trade union values of fairness, equality, and community empowerment. 

Conference asks Council to – 

1. campaign for a real-terms increase in funding to ACNI; and 

2. engage with other unions, local communities and cultural organisations to fight against arts cuts.