Advocacy

BE OUR #NIArtsAlly

The arts are not at the edge of Northern Ireland’s public life. They are already woven through it. The arts matter to all of us.

Every day across Northern Ireland, artists and arts organisations create the experiences that bring us together.

A night at the theatre.
A first visit to a gallery.
A festival that fills a town.
A child discovering their creativity.
A community telling its own story.
A place where we can imagine, question, laugh, remember and see the world differently.

The arts are part of our cultural identity and part of the life we share.

We believe they are worth protecting.

Be Our Ally. #NIArtsAlly

WHY WE ARE ASKING YOU TO BE AN ALLY

The arts do not happen by accident.

Behind every performance, exhibition, festival, workshop and creative experience is an infrastructure of artists, arts organisations, venues, studios, producers, technicians, educators and cultural workers.

That infrastructure has become increasingly difficult to sustain.

Over many years, the real value of public investment in the arts in Northern Ireland has declined. Organisations have had to do more with less. Programmes have contracted. Specialist roles have disappeared. Opportunities for artists have been reduced. Some organisations and cultural spaces have been lost.

And yet public interest in the arts remains extraordinarily strong.

In 2024/25, 82% of adults in Northern Ireland engaged with the arts.

Arts organisations also work far beyond theatres and galleries. They work with schools, community organisations, local authorities, rural communities and health and wellbeing partners.

When cultural infrastructure becomes weaker, we risk losing much more than individual performances or exhibitions.

We lose some of our capacity to create, participate, tell our stories and pass those experiences on.

THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN TODAY

We want to enjoy the arts now.

But we also have a responsibility to make sure that future generations inherit a vibrant cultural life of their own.

Children growing up in Northern Ireland should have opportunities to encounter artists, discover their own creativity, experience theatre, music, visual art, dance and literature, and see their own communities reflected in culture.

That requires artists.

It requires organisations.

It requires places in which culture can happen.

And it requires a sustainable foundation beneath them.

What we protect today shapes what future generations will be able to experience tomorrow.

#NIArtsAlly

WHAT DOES “BE OUR ALLY” MEAN?

It is very simple.

You do not need to be an artist.

You do not need to understand arts funding.

You do not need to belong to an arts organisation.

You simply need to recognise that the arts matter.

When conversations arise about what we value as a society, say so.

When someone asks why the arts matter, tell them about:

  • the performance you still remember;
  • the exhibition that changed how you saw something;
  • the concert you shared with friends;
  • the festival that brought your town to life;
  • the creative experience that mattered to your child;
  • the artist, venue or organisation that made your community richer.

Then say:

THE ARTS MATTER TO ALL OF US.

We need to protect them for ourselves to enjoy today and for future generations to inherit.

SHARE WHY THE ARTS MATTER TO YOU

Everyone has a different reason.

What is yours?

Share a performance, artwork, venue, festival, artist, memory or experience that mattered to you.

Tell others why you believe Northern Ireland should protect its cultural life.

Use #NIArtsAlly

A simple message can help make the value of the arts visible:

“The arts matter to me because…”

“One arts experience I will never forget is…”

“I want future generations to have…”

Add #NIArtsAlly and help build a public picture of what the arts mean to people across Northern Ireland.

WHAT VAI IS ASKING GOVERNMENT TO DO

Our detailed report, A Role for the Arts in the Future of Northern Ireland, sets out four practical actions.

RECOVER

Create a time-limited Arts and Cultural Sector Recovery Fund to help rebuild cultural capacity that has already been lost or seriously weakened.

STABILISE

Provide a costed, multi-year funding settlement so organisations can plan, employ people, maintain programmes and build long-term relationships.

PROTECT

Maintain the arm’s-length principle so individual arts funding decisions remain fair, transparent and independent.

SUSTAIN

Ensure publicly supported cultural activity provides equitable remuneration and clear professional contracts for the artists and cultural workers who make it possible.

These are policy proposals.

But the principle behind them is much simpler:

Northern Ireland should protect the cultural infrastructure it already has.

BE OUR ALLY

You can help without joining an organisation or signing up to a political position.

Talk about why the arts matter to you.

Share this campaign.

Share the report with someone who should see it.

Support the artists, venues and organisations in your community.

And when the value of the arts is discussed — in your family, workplace, community or public life — say:

THE ARTS MATTER TO ALL OF US.

Protect the arts we enjoy today.

Protect the opportunity to create tomorrow.

Protect our cultural future.

BE OUR ALLY

#NIArtsAlly

Visual Artists Ireland

Artists. Communities. A Creative Future.

Download Social Media assets: https://tinyurl.com/NIArtsAlly

Request a copy of the report: The Arts, our role in the Future of Northern Ireland.

visualartists.ie