27 community projects across the island of Ireland awarded grants by Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund

Bank of Ireland, in partnership with Arts & Business NI and Business to Arts, has announced the projects that will receive financial support from the Begin Together Arts Fund. Since 2020, the all-island Begin Together Arts Fund has allocated more than £800,000 in arts funding to support artists and arts projects in communities across the island of Ireland.

Over £250,000 is being awarded in the third round of funding for projects taking place between October 2022 and December 2023.

For this round of the Begin Together Arts Fund, in partnership with Arts & Business NI and Business to Arts, the projects supported aimed to inspire and uplift their local communities. Arts Fund grant recipients will receive up to £12,900 to support the creation of new works in music, theatre, dance, traditional arts, and the visual arts, and the aim is for the projects to benefit a wide range of audiences.

William Thompson, Head of Consumer Banking NI, Bank of Ireland said:

“I’m delighted that the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund, in partnership with Arts & Business NI, is supporting a broad range of artists and local arts organisations across Northern Ireland. This year’s focus on projects that inspire and uplift their local communities represents an important part of our wider support for communities through our Begin Together initiative.

“We’re looking forward to seeing these projects brought to life in the coming months and to celebrating these artists and local groups for the role they play in enhancing and connecting communities.”

Mary Nagele is CEO of Arts & Business NI said:

“Bank of Ireland is actively connecting people and creative communities across Northern Ireland through the Begin Together Arts Fund. The diverse arts groups awarded funding enrich so many lives and foster a real sense of wellbeing and community and I am delighted to see the bank continue to provide this valuable support to the arts in this way.”

Among the projects in Northern Ireland to receive support are:

● Maiden Voyage Dance, Belfast Movement Choir will offer free workshops to participants, removing cost as a barrier. Their two centres will be based in inner East Belfast, with their Templemore Avenue centre catering for young mothers and girls. Workshops at their Crescent Arts Centre will be open to participants of all ages up to 80 years+

● Planxty Limavady is a participatory music group for health and wellbeing in the rural community. The group will bring the health and wellbeing benefits of live music to approximately 2226 people in the rural catchment of Limavady, through a series of participatory concerts in 11 care homes, day centres and community centres and nine schools

● DU Dance (NI) – Alternative Energies, Antrim, is an intergenerational dance project brings teenagers and older people from rural Ballycastle together to meet, create and have fun. First established to counteract the lack of physical and emotional human connection both young and old during the pandemic, the group continues to operate a community shared space to help them connect with each other.

● The Void Gallery, Derry will host weekly community arts sessions using a wide range of artistic processes. The sessions will culminate in an exhibition of work that will be installed in the café of the new Family Justice Centre in Derry.

● Youth Opera, based in Fermanagh, will host workshops in rural Fermanagh designed to bring together upper primary school pupils from different religious backgrounds for one-hour workshops on music and theatre.

A full list of 2022 grantees is available here: http://www.bankofireland.com/begintogether