Northern Ireland’s Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, has opened a public consultation on a new arts policy intended to guide the sector over the next decade.
The Department for Communities is asking for views on a draft vision and 17 proposed policy aims. The consultation opened on 12 November and is due to close on 21 January 2027. Its outcome will inform further work on the policy; the proposals are not yet a final policy.
The areas identified for action include improving equality of opportunity and the reach of the arts across Northern Ireland, supporting community and grassroots activity, and developing pathways for artistic talent. They also include creating stronger opportunities to showcase work and encouraging collaboration across the sector.
Lyons said the policy should widen participation and make creativity accessible to more people. He recognised that building capacity, strengthening infrastructure and broadening access would require sustained commitment, partnership and investment.
Who can respond
The department is seeking responses through a questionnaire and says people from any background can take part. Organisations are asked to submit one response each. A paper questionnaire can also be requested from the department.
The consultation is concerned with the proposed vision and aims, rather than a completed implementation plan. Responses offer an opportunity to comment on what the policy should prioritise before its further development.
The department says it may publish consultation responses, apart from those where the respondent indicates they do not want their response published. Organisational responses and those from people acting in a professional capacity may be published. Personal data such as telephone numbers and email addresses will be removed from published responses.
Responses may also be disclosed following a request under information-access rules, subject to data-protection requirements. The department asks anyone who wants their information treated as confidential to explain why, so it can consider that request.
How the policy fits with existing work
The Department for Communities sets arts policy and provides funding, primarily through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The council is an arm’s-length body of the department and is responsible for funding and developing the arts.
The Arts Council has its own separate ten-year strategic plan for 2024 to 2034. It describes that plan as setting a direction for the development of the arts and says its funding programmes are linked to the plan and to departmental objectives. The new consultation concerns the department’s proposed policy, rather than the earlier consultation on the council’s plan.
The department also supports creative industries and provides funding through Northern Ireland Screen for cultural, educational, careers and outreach work. Its new arts policy consultation is part of a wider Heritage, Culture and Creativity programme established in 2024, covering the arts alongside museums, public libraries and the historic environment.
Funding remains a central question
Equity, the performers’ union, has campaigned for a new arts policy and raised concerns about underfunding. In September, its members and other arts activists brought a letter of no confidence in Lyons to Stormont. Before the consultation opened, the union said it intended to contribute and encouraged others to take part.
Lyons has previously said that arts funding was not sufficient, while maintaining that he had protected the budget and provided additional support where possible. The consultation launch does not itself announce a specific budget for the proposed policy or a timetable for implementing its aims.
Separately, the department has announced a £750,000 Small Capital Grants Programme for arts organisations. The programme is intended to help with equipment and minor works to facilities. It is a specific grant scheme, not a commitment to fund the whole proposed ten-year policy.
For artists, organisations and audiences considering a response, the immediate decision is what to say about the draft vision and aims. The final shape of the policy, and how its ambitions will be put into practice, remain matters for further development after views have been gathered.
