A 100 per cent cut in Arts Council funding to the Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company has been described as ‘profound blow to the cultural soul of Derry’ at Stormont.

SDLP MLA Sinéad McMcLaughlin raised the funding blow on Monday.

"The recent funding cuts to Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, one of our city's most vital, inclusive and creative institutions, is more than just a funding decision: it is a profound blow to the cultural soul of Derry.

"Echo Echo is not just a stage company but a community; a space where people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities come together to create, move, heal and imagine something better.

"It supports artists, reaches into communities and contributes to our local economy. Removing its funding does real damage to the legacy that we built as the first UK City of Culture,” she said.

Announcing the funding cut two weeks ago Echo Echo described it as ‘an existential threat’.

On Monday morning the performing arts trade union Equity held a rally outside Orchard House demanding that funding be restored.

"We must value our artists and protect our cultural institutions,” said Mrs. McLaughlin. “We must not allow Derry's creative future to be dismantled piece by piece. I urge Minister Lyons [the Communities Minister Gordon] to review that decision, restore funding to Echo Echo and work with the Arts Council to develop a fair, transparent and sustainable approach to arts investment, one that supports every part of our region, not just a few.

"The arts sector in Northern Ireland is underfunded when compared with that in the rest of these islands. Now, we see decisions being made that compound regional imbalance. Derry and the north-west deserve better.

"I am also concerned about the Communities Minister's letter of expectations to the Arts Council, which included language suggesting that funding could be withdrawn from any group whose work is deemed to be disrespectful of any tradition.

“That is vague, it is subjective and it risks silencing creative voices. We must safeguard artistic freedom, not stifle it.”

Mrs. McLaughlin said the decision to withdraw funding came at a time when ‘communities face deep social and economic challenges’.

"In moments such as this, the arts are not a luxury; they are a necessity. They offer connection, resilience and opportunity. Following last year's cut to the Waterside Theatre, the recent decision to withdraw funding from Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company is not just a budget line: it is a cultural loss, a blow to community well-being and a threat to the creative economy of our city.

"I am deeply concerned about the growing pattern of disinvestment in the arts in Derry and the north-west. Enough is enough.” she declared.

Following the announcement of the cuts the Arts Council said that as a ‘client and multi-grant recipient, Echo Echo Dance Company has accessed funding from many of our programmes, including the AFP’.

"Unfortunately, with disappointment this year Echo Echo did not receive 25-26 AFP funding. We are seeking a meeting with Echo Echo on their immediate plans.

"We want to reassure the dance community in NI that public investment in dance in the Derry City and the North-West region remains a priority and we will be working to ensure that provision for dance continues,” it stated.