Following yesterdays announcement at Stormont regarding spending in the Arts Karen McKevitt MLA has welcomed news that planned funding cuts of 7% to 32 arts groups will now not go ahead.
Mrs McKevitt said “Yesterday the whole arts community breathed a sigh of relief. The sector faced some of the hardest cuts to date at the behest of the Arts Minister, cuts that would have most certainly resulted in job losses and seen our arts providers limited in their ability to provide engagement and interaction opportunities to the wider community.
“During a recent meeting with the Culture, Arts and Leisure committee, I pressed the Minister to commit to reversing the proposed cuts of £620,000 if monies became available to her Department. The Minister has done just that and I am delighted that the latest round of cuts has been stopped.
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“The campaign to make the arts sector sustainable is far from over and the industry has felt the impact of the economic climate more than any other. We need to look at measures to safeguard this sector for the future.”
