Older people in Newry to share in £199k Arts Council funding

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced National Lottery funding and public funding from the Public Health Agency and Baring Foundation of over £199,714, for 28 organisations across the region, to deliver community-based arts projects benefitting older people. 

Newry’s Sticky Fingers Arts received £9,000.

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The funding is part of the Arts Council’s Arts and Older People Programme, a pioneering initiative which aims to tackle loneliness as well as promoting positive mental health and well-being among older people through engagement with the arts.

Sticky Fingers Art has received funding through the Arts & Older People Programme and will now go on to deliver a high-quality arts programme to benefit older people in the Newry area.

The Arts and Older People Programme was established by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2010 and is now a cross-governmental partnership with funding from the Public Health Agency and The Baring Foundation.

The programme has been designed to challenge perceptions of what it means to be an older person.

To date, the programme has provided £1.8m funding to community organisations and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland in the delivery of 184 arts projects to older people.  

Lorraine Calderwood, Community Development Officer at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, explained how the Arts and Older People Programme is making a difference to the lives of older people across the region: 

“Research has proven that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as aid in relieving stress, worries and also pain,” she told Newry Times.

“The Arts and Older People Programme is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our older people to take part in arts activities, enriching their lives for the better. 

“The arts have a vital role to play in helping older people find their voice and express the issues which can often affect them on a day-to-day basis, thus promoting positive physical and mental health. 

“The Arts Council is proud to have supported 184 projects since the programme began and we’re delighted today to announce that a further 28 projects will be supported with funding of over £199,714,” Lorraine added.

Visit www.artscouncil-ni.org for details on all funding opportunities.

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Posted by NewryTimes News on Jan 7 2020. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry