Culture Minister welcomes £1.31million Legacy Trust

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, 27 May 2009,Northern Ireland

Six Northern Ireland projects which bring together arts and sports are to benefit from funding of £1.31million in the lead up the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Welcoming the announcement made by the Legacy Trust UK (LTUK), Culture and Arts Minister Gregory Campbell said: “These unique projects will help a number of young people celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and learn more about the ethos of the Games.

“Sports and arts will be working together resulting in new collaborations and opportunities to exchange skills with each other while striving, as always, to achieve excellence.”

Northern Ireland is one amongst the three devolved nations and nine English regions to receive this funding. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI), will be responsible for the delivery of the funding to the project lead partners, coordinating the programme and ensuring that it provides a legacy beyond the Games in 2012.

Northern Ireland’s Legacy Trust Programme is known as Connections – Connecting Cultures: Inspiring Excellence. The programme contains six separate themes including dance and sport; physical theatre/circus and gymnastics; music/poetry and sport; children’s theatre and children’s sport and disability arts and sport.

Chair of the Board of Legacy Trust UK, Dugald Mackie, said: ”Legacy Trust UK has awarded funds to each region and country of the UK to develop and support innovative and exciting projects in communities embracing the values of the 2012 Games. In Northern Ireland, we are funding an innovative programme of activities that will engage the community in sport and the arts, encourage excellence and help diverse groups to share and explore their experience. This will promote closer working between the two sectors, which in turn will leave a lasting legacy.”

Chair of the Arts Council, Rosemary Kelly emphasised the importance of this award of funding. She said: “In the current difficult funding environment for the arts in Northern Ireland, Legacy Trust UK is giving us a special opportunity to be associated with one of the most unique events of our times. We are particularly enthusiastic to share artistic experiences with our colleagues in the world of sport.”

Echoing these comments, Chair of Sport Northern Ireland, Dominic Walsh said: “Jointly working with arts organisations on projects emphasising excellence and achievement is new territory for sport in Northern Ireland but is a very interesting proposition and a welcome development. I have no doubt that all the young people will have much to learn and gain from these experiences.”

Each of these six themes will emphasise excellence and achievement and focus on interaction between arts and sport.

Commenting on the range of themes within the ‘Connections’ Programme, the Minister said: “The potential for the creation of innovative and lasting relationships between arts, sport and across the community should be exploited to its fullest potential through each programme. It is a very exciting piece of news for young people who are involved in sports and the arts at all levels.

“For the project lead partners it will be a development experience that will challenge and stimulate them and create new networks and partnerships.”

The projects will commence in September 2009 and run until June 2012.

external link >

Show latest news, more from May 2009.