THE Andersonstown Music School is celebrating after it was included in £10m of funding that has been announced by Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey to a wide range of arts and creative organisations.
The money willl help stabilise the sector which has been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Organisations will use the funding to put their finances back on a stable footing.
A delighted ‘Maxi’ McElroy who manages the Andersonstown Music School said when the initial lockdown was introduced in March last year, 59 music classes were being delivered each week but they had to be suspended.
“It was the young people in these areas that suffered the most through the loss of access to the music classes that they had been attending,” he said. “Additionally, the music school lost significant income as a result of the classes being cancelled.
“During the year, things have been tough – working from home, lack of equipment, staff on furlough, loss of income and maintaining interest in the music school. Over the past months, we found it necessary to amend the delivery of our programme and we were able to get things up and running again via the use of Zoom conferencing.
“This was only possible with the backing of the Arts Council of NI who have provided financial support for the music school through their Stability & Renewal Programme for Organisations. Without this support, the music school was at risk of closure so it goes without saying that their support has been very much appreciated and necessary in the current Covid-19 situation."
Creative
Speaking about the financial package to arts groups Minister Hargey said: “I know that the arts and creative sectors have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and that this financial support is vital to stabilise organisations and prevent many from closing permanently.
“This funding will eliminate deficits which organisations have accumulated from 1 April 2020 because of reductions in income, coupled with unavoidable ongoing costs.
“The arts and creative industries have an important role to play in helping us all emerge from this pandemic, and this support is designed to stabilise organisations until they can reopen and resume delivering their important benefits to our community.”
Roísín McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “The announcement of £10million of funding will be of benefit to 168 arts and cultural organisations across NI. The Arts Council thanks the Minister for Communities for making this emergency fund available.
“It is very much needed to help stabilize the wider arts, cultural and entertainment sectors in these difficult times and to plan for eventual recovery.”
