By François Vincent, Local Democracy Reporter
A recommendation to approve the issue of service-level agreements (SLAs) to three local arts organisations, for the purpose of delivering community arts engagement, was approved at a recent ABC Economic Development & Regeneration Committee meeting.
In the coming months, the Tourism, Arts & Culture (TAC) Department of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council will deliver its ‘Traditions for the Future ‘programme with the following groups: Healthy in Mind (Craigavon), Jubilee Community Group (Portadown), and Aghagallon Community Centre.
The ‘Traditions for the Future’ programme is designed to respond directly to the needs of older people within ABC communities, and will examine the stories, creative history and cultural fabric that have helped forge those communities.
This new partnership comes on the back of a very successful project which saw four artists deliver arts projects with three local community organisations.
Each project was artist-led and community-driven. The result was a programme that produced tangible health and wellbeing outcomes, going by the result of a survey which elicited a really positive impact.
The ABC Tourism, Arts & Culture Department is also engaging with other community groups across the borough on their needs and aspirations in relation to participation in arts activity.
This will enable the Department to respond appropriately when funding becomes available.
In spring of this year, local community and arts organisations will take part in a conference which will explore what community art is, and how it can deliver benefits by bringing people and communities together in creative activity.
Alongside this delivery of projects, the ABC Council is also working with external arts organisations.
In 2019, the statutory body identified four community arts organisations with significant community outreach, and the capacity to develop and deliver arts and cultural programmes of engagement enhancing existing Council provision.
As a result, service-level agreements were issued to Armagh Pipers Club (£10,000 grant), Arts In Motion (£5,000), the John Hewitt Society (£10,000), and Shore Collective (£5,000).
The service-level agreements enable these arts organisations to sustain their activity through the provision of a small amount of funding for core costs, alongside some budget for programme activity.
This model of direct delivery by the ABC Council, alongside delivery through local arts organisations into communities, has enabled a diverse and sustainable programme of community arts activity to be delivered at community level.
At the Economic Development & Regeneration Committee meeting held on January 16, councillors were asked to approve the rolling-out of service-level agreements with local arts organisations for the next two years, with a two-year extension, to be reviewed annually.
Addressing committee members, Head of the Tourism, Arts & Culture Department, Brian Johnston commented: “You can see the satisfaction rate from the different users of the programme.
“There are annual targets which we monitor tightly, and they’ve all achieved the satisfaction ratings that we were looking for, and so the recommendation before members is that they approve the service-level agreements to the three arts organisations for the purpose of delivering community arts engagement across the borough, in line with the Arts, Culture and Heritage Framework 2021-2031.”
Councillor Kyle Savage (UUP, Lagan River DEA) spoke highly of the programme: “I have been involved in one of the groups that had got funding, Donaghcloney Community Garden in the previous round.
“It had major benefits to the local community, They were able to express themselves through art and that was very beneficial to that area.”
Councillor Thomas O’Hanlon (SDLP, Armagh DEA) concurred with that view: “This is an excellent programme. I think it’s a good way of engaging people through the arts and I’ll be happy to propose.”
Councillor Julie Flaherty (UUP, Portadown DEA) felt that it would be good to hear directly from the partner arts organisations as part of the annual assessment.
“We all in the chamber know a lot of these groups. The projects have been really very beneficial and they’ve really brought a lot of people together in different ways, so that’s been very very good,” she said.
“Will there be a capacity built into [the annual review process] in some way that those groups will come in and tell this committee or tell the council (…) what they’d got up to over the year? That would be useful.”
The head of Department replied: “If that’s what members request, then that will happily be facilitated.”
The recommendation to approve the issue of service-level agreements to three arts organisations was proposed by councillor O’Hanlon, and seconded by councillor Flaherty.
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