NI Arts Council rejects 'Belfast centric agenda' accusation while Waterside Theatre set to continue without a building

Last week it was announced that the Derry theatre would close its doors, following 23 years of operation, on June 30 this year.

At the April Business and Culture Committee meeting, Sinn Féin Councillor and Committee Chair Brian Harte said the theatre was a “much-loved culture venue in the city”, whose closure, scheduled for June this year “came as a shock to many”.

In a letter to Council, Waterside Theatre Company Chief Executive, Iain Barr, said the initial thought upon hearing the news was to “wind up the company at the end of June”, but now plans are being made to continue community projects without a fixed venue.

The letter continued: “However, on reflection we believe out strengths as an organisation lie in the community arts programmes we deliver that benefit those most in need in our society.

“These include young people from different cultural backgrounds, people with disabilities, and older people in residential care, and we do not need a venue to deliver these programmes beyond June.”

At Mr Barr’s request, Councillor Harte asked officers to “facilitate a discussion” among the Council, the Arts Council, and DfC to “explore all avenues to assist the Company in this transition”.

SDLP Councillor Rory Farrell said that the complete disappearance of the theatre was “the last thing we want to see”.

“When everybody heard the news that this Waterside institution had lost every single penny of its £124,000 funding, they were deeply disappointed,” Councillor Farrell said.

“It’s a symptom of a lack of funding within the Arts Council and a lack of funding for the arts in the North.

“Next month we’ve got members from DfC and the Arts Council coming to talk about regional balance, and this isn’t a good start.

“The Arts Council has a Belfast-centric approach, it has a Belfast-centric agenda, and the allocation of funding across the North favours Belfast massively: in 2022/2023, 72 per cent of Arts Council funding went to organisations based in Belfast.”

UUP Alderman Darren Guy said the withdrawal of funding for the theatre was “disgraceful, considering the effort they’ve put in over the years”.

Alderman Guy added: “Since I’ve been in Council, we’ve been fighting for scraps for arts groups in the North West area.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said the news was “devastating”, “an utter disgrace”, and “a massive slap in the face” for residents.

“It’s only a year since we were fighting to keep the doors of Radio Foyle open, and now have another major attack on the city,” Councillor Harkin concluded. “There’s a legacy of regional imbalances and this is an absolutely shocking decision.”

Responding to the concerns raised during the discussion, a spokesperson for the Arts Council told the Derry Journal: “As a long-term Arts Council client and multi-grant recipient, the Waterside Theatre has accessed funding from many of our programmes, including the Annual Funding Programme (AFP). Unfortunately, this year the Waterside Theatre did not receive 24-25 AFP funding. ACNI provided them with detailed feedback on their application which did not meet funding criteria, and of course we will continue to be open to discussions with them on future sources of funding support.”

In relation to comments made at the recent Business & Culture Committee meeting, the spokesperson said: “ACNI is an arts funding and development agency, serving all of Northern Ireland and we do not fund on place-based criteria, nor are we Belfast centric in our approach; regional funding is the role of local Government and other funders.

"7.9% of the total NI population lives in the DCSDC area, arts organisations based there received 13.4% of the final AFP budget in 2023/24. 100% of eligible AFP applications from the DCSDC area were successful in both 2022/23 and 2023/24. As would be expected given its position as the largest conurbation in Northern Ireland, many arts organisations are based in the Belfast local authority area. However, our data clearly shows that organisations headquartered in Belfast deliver on a regionally-wide basis, with 43% of their programming taking place outside Belfast.

“Although all ACNI programmes are operating within a constrained public funding environment, the decision not to fund the Waterside Theatre was unrelated to funding pressures.

"We note the comments from those in attendance at the DCSDC committee meeting, and ACNI will be meeting Council officers in May.

"Finally, it is important to note that ACNI administers fair and competitive funding programmes with published criteria which are open to all artists and organisations wherever they are based. We will continue to work with all of our local government partners and the Department for Communities to support the arts sector.”

There was widespread shock last week when the news that it was to to close was shared on social media.

In a social media post, Mr Barr stated at the time: “It is my very sad duty to inform you that Waterside Theatre and Arts Centre will close on June 30, 2024. This decision was reached in light of funding issues, after careful consideration by the board and management of the organisation.”

Iain Barr continued: "Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of everyone who has served as a board member, been an employee or volunteered at Waterside Theatre & Arts Centre over the last 23 years. It’s been a pleasure working with you all.”

Andrew Balfour, Local Democracy Reporter and Brendan McDaid