Today (27 April), the Society of Authors joined other creative unions, artists, and campaigners to deliver Equity’s Resist the Cuts petition to the Department for Communities in Belfast.
The petition, started by Equity campaigns officer Gareth Forest, has attracted over 11,000 signatures.
It was the latest stage of protests against a proposed 10% cut to arts funding in Northern Ireland.
Stormont, the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly, has been planning for budget cuts of at least £500m in cash terms in this financial year, with the cut taking place while Stormont is not sitting. The legislature has been inactive since February 2022, when the Democratic Unionist Party boycotted parliament. This means that there will be no democratic scrutiny of the cuts proposed.
The £1.3m cut to the budget of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland will be passed onto arts organisations that employ, support and develop writers, actors, musicians and other workers in the creative sector. Arts funding is already significantly lower in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Sam Dunkley of the Musicians Union told a packed meeting in Belfast’s Black Box on 25 April that spending on the arts per head of population in Northern Ireland was only £5.43 in 2022/23. In Wales it was £10.35 and in Republic of Ireland it was £25.90.
The creative sector in Northern Ireland plays a vital role in inspiring, educating and entertaining people, in building peace, reconciliation and inclusion and in providing economic opportunities. The SoA will work with its fellow creative unions to resist these deeply damaging proposals.
The Society of Authors will continue to work with its fellow creative unions and the wider creative community to resist these deeply damaging proposals.