Show latest news, more from September 2005.
Public art focus for Arts Council of Northern Ireland
There will be more public art commissions in Northern Ireland after the Arts Council of Northern Ireland announced it has set aside £750,000 of National Lottery money for a new funding programme. The new Public Art Programme aims to capitalize on burgeoning interest in public art by supporting the number of high-quality commissions by organizations across the country. “How we shape our public spaces affects each and every one of us, and expectations in modern-day Northern Ireland are naturally high”, says Paul Harron, the Arts Council’s Architecture and Public Art Officer. “Since additional resources became available to it with the advent of National Lottery funding in 1995, the Arts Council has increasingly supported the impetus for public art in the region, with to date nearly £2 million awarded to over 50 public art projects. “Now, with this dedicated Public Art Programme, we can take the development a stage further and encourage yet more dynamic commissioning,” he said. The programme will dovetail with the existing New Work and Access funding streams. Applicants are able to apply for funding towards permanent single works, multiple linked works and integrated art projects. The monetary amount of awards made through the programme must be in excess of £10,001. The new funding programme follows the recent publication of the Arts Council’s Public Art Handbook for Northern Ireland that outlines and promotes best practice in the commissioning of public art as well as provided details of available funding. For further information and to download a copy of the Public Art Handbook for Northern Ireland, CLICK HERE
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