SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan
No date has yet been set when arts venues can reopen from lockdown with fears some may disappear the longer they shut to the public.
Said the Foyle MLA: “Just last week, I cautioned that a £4 million funding package for the arts sector, announced as part of the June monitoring round, was a drop in the ocean in terms of need.
“I urged the Minister to consider a longer term approach to supporting our arts sector, financially and also by producing the long awaited Arts and Culture Strategy.
“The announcement of a £33m support package, in a Barnett allocation, is hugely welcome news.
“This will provide the sector with some hope. It is crucial this money is spent as intended.
“The Department for Communities must carefully consider, in close conjunction with the sector, how this money can best be spent to support the sector and those working in it.
“While this funding is welcome news, the Executive must recognise the hugely important role the Arts Sector plays here in the North, with creative talent abounds in our cities.
“We must harness and protect it at all costs, not only through a tailored and adequate funding package, but through a strategy that will ensure a sustainable creative industry here.”
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