Northern Ireland’s (NI) culture minister has highlighted the importance of the arts and creative projects to community development and wellbeing, saying ‘The arts are a right, not a luxury. They should be accessible to all regardless of means or background.’
The Northern Ireland Executive writes:
Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín today highlighted the importance of the arts as a catalyst for community development. The Minister was speaking at a Féile an Phobail conference in the Duncairn Centre in north Belfast.
The event, entitled The Importance of the Arts in Building the Capacity in our Community, highlighted the value of arts at a grassroots level. It marked a new collaboration between Féile an Phobail and groups in the New Lodge area.
The Minister said: ‘I believe the arts have a very important role to play in delivering the transformation of our society. Arts and culture can strengthen communities, bring people together and remove social barriers. Arts and opportunities for cultural expression should be freely available to all. My Department is committed to harnessing culture, arts and leisure to promote equality, while tackling poverty and social exclusion. DCAL and its arm’s-length bodies have made good progress in targeting public resources to bring about meaningful change to as many people as possible. In particular, we have targeted the most disadvantaged in our communities.
‘The arts are a right, not a luxury. They should be accessible to all regardless of means or background.
‘I am working with a difficult budget, with pressures resulting from cuts imposed by the British Government. I believe that the arts need to move forward in an ever changing, modern world. We need to respond to the demands of young people and others who want to engage with the arts more creatively through various platforms.
‘My vision is that the arts are exploited to their fullest potential for the good of society and the economy. The most important thing is that everyone, regardless of background, should have an opportunity to participate and engage with arts and culture.’
