Arts funding faces £1m budget cut

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More than £1m is being sliced from the budget of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which helps fund a range of artists and arts organisations.

The £1.1m cut follows budget reductions across the NI government departments, including £25.9m from the Department of Culture, which funds the council.

Chairman Rosemary Kelly said they had been hoping for a £1.55m increase.

She said it would been hard to "maintain even standstill funding for the majority of the sector".

"We are of course disappointed at the prospect of this cut to the arts budget and very aware of the painful consequences that this will inevitably have for our artists, arts organisations and venues," she said.

"The Arts Council will continue to put the case on behalf of the arts sector during the remaining six-week consultation period.

"However, given the political consensus already reached on the overall budget, we recognise that we must all prepare for difficult times ahead."

On Tuesday, the Arts Council announced it was investing £374,000 in Opera Company NI, which is aimed at broadening the appeal of opera and raising the standards of local performance.