Arts & Culture Co Delivery Group 2023

Derry City & Strabane District
Arts & Culture
Co-Delivery
2021-2023
Group

Foreword
Kevin Murphy
Chairperson, Arts & Culture Co-Delivery Group
2021-23
The 2021-23 Co-Delivery Group continues to sustain itself
and the strategy action plan through some exceptionally
challenging times:
• Covid-19 Pandemic
• A Cost of Living Crisis
• A climate emergency
• A breakdown of the NI Executive
• A Cultural Policy vacuum at central government level
There have been some important highlights, many of
which and more are covered in this report. Some of the
achievements that particularly resonate with me are:
• More collaborative working – evidenced in the
collaborative resilience programme and indeed in the
ethos and practice of the co-delivery group itself
• Greater recognition of the voices of artists, arts
organisation and Derry-Londonderry as a cultural
hub at local and central government and the
beginnings of better partnership working with
government
• The forming of a cultural brand and story that not
only can engage with audiences but elevates the city
region as a cultural place.
• Greater understanding of the difference we make
collectively
• A focus on access and inclusion
• Greater recognition of the distinctiveness of
the cultural offer here as well as an acceptance
at government level of the long-standing
underinvestment in the cultural life of this city region.
• Greater connection across the sector – with events
such as the City Conversation in 2023
There is much more to celebrate as you will see in the
rest of this report – and let’s make sure that, however
small the achievement is, we recognise it.
Where we find ourselves now is both full of challenge and
full of opportunity. Budgets that we had hoped to access
to, at the very least, mark 10 years after City of Culture
and build on these foundations and our ambitions, have
been decimated. There is no sugar-coating things – the
funding picture is stark, our regions governance is broken
and many of us here, as well as the communities we
serve, are facing severe social and economic challenges.
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Now is the time to lean into
our challenges and look
to the future together with
hope.
• Genuine collaboration requires energy, commitment
of time and resources – we have yet to fully realise
its potential
• Financial resources aren’t everything, but good will
and creativity alone can’t plug the gap left by serial
underinvestment
So, the question is what do we do now? Perhaps the
opportunity is to recognise that we can no longer meet
these challenges with the same old ways of working – we
have to adapt, change and innovate.
The current Arts & Culture Strategy is coming to an end
and all of us are now charged with helping to renew it
over the next period. In the context of a new Arts Council
NI and the long-awaited Cultural Policy for NI this is
going to be an important task.
Now is the time to lean into our challenges and look to
the future together and with hope.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my
colleagues for all their creativity and energy over these
past two years. My work as chair has been made more
enjoyable by your kind support.
What I think we have learned in the last 2 years is:
• Our strategy needs more focus with a smaller
number of more strategic, prioritised actions
• Supporting all our peers from individual freelance
artists to public funded and commercial
organisations and providing a platform for their
voices, strengthens us all.
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Mayor’s Address
We are now 4 years into a Co Delivery process for the
DCSDC Arts & Culture Strategy. When this strategy was
first presented to Council for adoption none of us could
have foreseen the challenges ahead for the arts and
culture sector in the northwest.
After battling our way through the Covid pandemic
we have been faced with a cost-of-living crisis which
is stretching our cultural organisations and artistic
community to breaking point. Council is not immune to
the financial challenges within the wider economy, and
this has impacted on our ability to increase investment in
our cultural grant aid programmes.
However, Councils investment in Arts & Culture has, in
the main, been retained despite the financial pressures
that we face. We are aware that inflation and escalating
energy cost mean that this investment does not go as
far as in previous years. Alongside this, other funders
upon which the sector rely have reduced their levels of
grant support. Despite these coalescing pressures there
is growth within the sector which is exciting for the City
and District, but which will inevitably add further pressure
to existing resources.
In these difficult times the Co Delivery process has
proven invaluable as a means of planning and delivery
certainly, but also as a space for open and honest
conversation between the sector and statutory partners
including Council, both Members and Officers. Over the
past 4 years a true partnership has been established and
forged in the face of adversity. From this I believe that
we have better developed our willingness and capacity
for collaborative working. For sure, this brings potential
efficiencies, but it also creates new opportunities for
those committed to real and meaningful collaboration.
Amidst the challenges there have been many notable
successes. The cultural offering here is a primary
attraction in the destination marketing of the City and
District contributing, in no small part, to the significant
and ongoing growth of visitors to the region. This
success will be further built upon with the roll out of
the new cultural brand for the City and District, a brand
that has been developed in close consultation with the
cultural sector.
Working across borders has been established practice
for the cultural sector over many years. Audiences,
practitioners, and cultural programming move back and
forth between Donegal and our own Council area. The
respective Councils have worked closely over many years
on a number of cultural related projects including the NW
Audience Development programme. Designed simply to
encourage audiences to participate in arts and culture
the project has established a standardised audience
impact methodology with over 70 cultural organisations
across the NW participating in this data collection and
analysis element. This data allows us all to see who the
audiences are, what they want and how to ensure that
this is sustained and grown through strategic targeted
investment in programmes.
One of the emerging trends from the audience impact
tracking relates to participation of the pan disability
community in arts and culture. The evidence clearly
suggests that Councils Access and Inclusion Programme
has had a marked impact on the engagement of this
segment. The result of many years of investment in the
reduction of barriers to access across the sector and
testament to the dedication of our cultural partners
in pursuing accessibility as a key priority within their
respective organisations.
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A significant amount of groundwork has been undertaken
over the past number of years in terms of research
and engagement. A robust understanding of need and
opportunity is essential when seeking investment. It
provides the evidence required when seeking additional
resources to build upon these foundations and explore
new partnership projects including those relating to
audiences, screen and digital.
The Collaborative Resilience Programme, involving 26
DCSDC based cultural organisations, has established
a standardised impact assessment model alongside a
Strategic Investment Plan for the sector. This Investment
Plan identifies those priorities for the sector which will be
critical in the coming years. It will be for the Co Delivery
Group to present the Investment Strategy to Council in
the Autumn for adoption.
The essence of the Investment Strategy is one of
collaboration, one that recognises the power of
partnerships in realising a truly ambitious vision.
Already, there are examples of organisations combining
their energies for mutual benefit. The Built Heritage
Consortium is an example of a cluster headed by the
Foyle Civic Trust and involving a number of cultural
organisations who are custodians of built heritage
assets within the City. This initiative is designed to
secure economies of scale in the maintenance of built
heritage assets, a worthwhile objective in its own right,
with regards to the bottom line of the participating
organisations. But there also exists the potential for
shared learning and strategic capital development within
the same cluster. And, quite rightly, the model is one
upon which external funders are positively disposed.
cultural sector generally and the Co Delivery partners,
in particular. Challenging conversations have been
embraced in a spirit of openness and mutual respect. I
note the recent symposium regarding the legacy impact
10 years on from the UK City of Culture designation
award. This was a conversation designed and led by
the Co Delivery cultural partners. The learning from this
engagement has been incredibly valuable. It can be
viewed as part of the long-term discussion relating to
the equitable share of investment in the arts, this having
become a key focus for the Co Delivery Group over its
tenure.
The Co Delivery structure lends itself to deal with
emerging needs, a vital flexibility in turbulent times. Over
the next 2-year term the Co Delivery Group will deliver
a new strategy, one that will build upon the knowledge
gained through the Audience Development work, the
Collaborative Resilience Programme, the symposium
events and engagement activities. It will be one fit for
purpose for where we are at now yet retain the flexibility
to adjust as circumstances dictate.
I would like to give a heartfelt thankyou to those cultural
partners who gave of their time these past 2 years. Your
efforts have been very much appreciated and I trust that
you have found the experience worthwhile.
And to the Co Delivery Group incoming, I wish you all the
best of luck and I look forward to working with you over
the coming months.
The 4-year term of Strategy delivery to date has required
a significant investment of time and effort from the
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Arts &
Culture
Sector
Engagement
Report on critical
actions 2021-23
Steve Batts
Co-Delivery Group Member & Lead on the Arts &
Culture Lobbying Subgroup
The process of developing a lobbying process to
represent the concerns and interests of the arts and
culture sector in DCSDC area has taken place over the
period of the previous co-delivery group. It has been
in close collaboration with DCSDC officers and council
members. The process has been, at least to some degree
effective. Concerns about the disparity in resources tend
no longer to be dismissed as illegitimate and whingeing.
They are explicitly acknowledged as legitimate.
21-23 saw the co delivery group taking a lead in
delivering ongoing sectoral engagement initiatives aimed
at taking the pulse of our sector, our issues, concerns
and achievements towards representing the needs and
aspirations of our sector, fostering a unified approach to
positive change and growth.
Examples of Co Delivery led sectoral engagement
initiatives in the period include the NW Culture Exchange
Symposium 2022, City Conversation: A City of Culture
10 Years On 2023, Creative Arts Network, 2023, DFC
Cultural Strategy Engagement Sessions, 2023, Arts &
Culture Hustings 2023.
Significant developments have been made by the A &
C Co Delivery Group in respect of the development of
an ongoing lobbying process to represent the concerns
and interests of the arts and culture sector in the DCSDC
area.
This has seen extensive engagement with Department
for Communities (DFC), Arts Council Northern Ireland
(ACNI) and DCSDC on the issue of regional disparity.
This process involved significant consultation with
artists and arts organisations and led to the drafting of a
discussion paper not as a list of demands or policy asks,
rather it was intended to open up discussion around ways
to address deep seated structural issues.
In the paper, there is a comprehensive list of concerns
and issues. Central to many of them is the, well
evidenced, experience of long standing, structural underresourcing
of the arts sector in the DCSDC area.
With the support of local MLAs, the Co Delivery Group
presented the paper in a meeting with Minister Hargey
and her team in the autumn of 2021 and subsequently
met with personnel from DFC. Minister Deirdre Hargey’s
acknowledgment of the issue and her invitation to
engage with the DfC Arts branch civil service personnel
raised hopes that the development of a DfC five-year
strategy would give the opportunity to begin to seriously
address historical disparities. The collapse of the regional
government institutions has diminished the democratic
leverage that we had developed. However, we remain
hopeful that the report of the Arts and Culture Task
Force to DfC and the subsequent full strategy to be
developed in early 2024 will still reflect our concerns and
commit to addressing them. Should this not prove to be
the case we should be prepared to continue to lobby
through the democratic channels.
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North West
Audience
Development
Programme
2021-23 saw the roll out of the North West Audience
Development Action Plan with cross border projects
targeting key audience segments: Families and Older
People.
The Action Plan, supported by the North West Regional
Development Group, delivered by DCSDC and Donegal
County Council, was developed following an extensive
audience baseline survey tracking audience behaviour
and identifying barriers to deeper and more frequent
engagement.
A key strand of the NW Audience Development project is
the ongoing collection of audience data from among our
cultural partners.
Working with Thrive NI and cultural partners across Derry
Strabane and Donegal, a shared impact methodology
was designed and developed to capture information on
audiences in the NW. This information will help the sector
and individual organisations measure impact, inform and
plan audience development initiatives.
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Summer Family Commissions 2021
26 artists and crew engaged in creation of 4 new touring
works with 45 performances across Donegal, Derry &
Strabane. 1712 number of in person audiences under
mid-level Covid guidelines. Image: Echo Echo Summer
Splashes at Buncrana shore front,
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Summer North West 2021
A 2-month arts and cultural digital marketing campaign
with an estimated reach of 720,475 and AVE of Euros
27,639.15. Image: In Your Space Circus Summer Family
Commissions.
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Artists in Residence
Artists in Residency to Care homes, urban and rural
across Derry, Strabane & Donegal. Image: Longfield Care
Home, Eglington Facilitators worked with groups of up
to 10 residents offering arts, crafts, dance, music, circus
skills programmes. “It was hugely rewarding building
relationships with older people and discovering the
story of their past lives and to see individuals surprise
themselves with what they are capable of once they start
making and developing their skills and enjoyment in the
activity of making art” Facilitator, Sheila Byrne.
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Older People’s Panel
Image: Online meeting of the Older People’s Panel
Older People’s Panel represents both arts and cultural
and non-arts interests on a cross border, rural and urban
offering insight from our older demographic, considering
and advising on barriers to participation, what
improvements can be made to support older people and
encourage them toward creative activities.
Examples of projects from the NW Audience
Development Action Plan:
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North West Audience Development Survey
Data overview from End of Year Report
May 2023
Over 3,100 responses from 40 organisations actively collecting
What is your age?
16 ~ 24: 4%
25 ~ 34: 9%
35 ~ 44: 21%
45 ~ 54: 25%
55 ~ 64: 23%
65 ~ 74: 13%
75+: 3%
Do you identify
as disabled?
Yes: 4%
No: 9%
Prefer not to say: 21%
Do you have
children living in
your household?
Yes: 45%
No: 54%
Prefer not to say: 1%
Attendance Patterns.
Who did you attend with today?
40%
35%
38%
87%
30%
25%
20%
28%
of North West
audiences attended
something cultural
with others
15%
10%
15%
13%
11%
11%
5%
0%
With spouse or partner
With friends
With younger children (0 - 11)
By myself
With older children (11 - 18)
5%
With an organised group
4%
With grandchildren
Other (please specify)
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How was your overall
experience?
Would you recommend these
events to family and friends?
Very good
75%
Yes
96%
Good
21%
No
1%
Average
3%
Unsure
3%
Poor
0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Very poor
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How do people feel about Arts & Culture in the North West?
I think it is important to have these
events/venues here
81%
17%
1%
The event/venue made me feel welcome
68%
28%
0%
3%
This event/venue is for people like me
64%
29%
1%
6%
I feel better for coming/joining in
63%
29%
7%
1%
1%
I felt connected to older people
48%
32%
18%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
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Heritage
DCSDC Heritage Plan -
A Vision for our future
2022-2027
Inaugural meeting of the Heritage Stakeholder Group,
Harbour House, Derry June 2023.
Derry City & Strabane District Council (DCSDC) in
partnership with Department for Communities – Historic
Environment Division (HED) launched DCSDC’s Heritage
Plan- A Vision for our future 2022-2027, in September
2022.
Heritage Mentoring and
Cultural Programme
Developed in partnership with the Heritage Venues
Group, DCSDC commissioned an 18-month programme
with funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund of
£100,000, this programme provides mentoring support
to 9 heritage organisations to enable them to establish
their sustainable practice and pursue opportunities
through collaborative working. The programme also
appointed a Cultural Programmer to work closely with
the Heritage Mentor in supporting the participating
organisations to create high quality, innovative and
engaging cultural programming.
Developed through engagement with a wide range
of heritage stakeholders from across the district, the
plan reflects Council’s commitment to promoting built
heritage within the District. Its success will be dependent
upon continuing the effective partnership between
Council and HED and our heritage organisations and
stakeholders.
The Heritage Plan sets out our aspirations for the historic
built environment for the next 5 years and details
objectives and actions across four key themes:
• Understanding our Heritage
• Protecting our heritage
• Sustainably developing our heritage, and
• Celebrating our heritage
The Heritage Plan is available online using the following
link: https://www.derrystrabane.com/services/
regeneration/heritage-development-projects)
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DCSDC
Cultural
Grant Aid
Investment
Council administers a number of Cultural Grant Aid
Programmes including the Cultural Organisation Fund,
Heritage Animation & Visitor Servicing Programme,
Access Programme for Cultural Organisations, Headline
Events Funding Programme, Community Festival Funding
Programme, the Artist & Cultural Practitioner Awards and
subvention programme for one off national events. These
programmes support a wide range of creative individuals,
cultural organisations and events across the City and
District. Here are just a few selected examples:
National Events Subvention
Scheme
The National Events Subvention Scheme was established
to encourage investment in National events, supporting
the promotion of the District as a leading location for
hosting World Class events and increasing the economic
contribution of events.
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The White Handkerchief
Image from ‘The White Handkerchief’.
Book and lyrics by Liam Campbell. Music by Brian O
Doherty. Directed by Kieran Griffith. Produced by The
Playhouse. ‘The White Handkerchief’, part of a trilogy
of new works produced by The Playhouse, premiered
live across the world on the 50th Anniversary of Bloody
Sunday in 2022. The production received support
through National Events Fund and gained acclamations
from local and international audiences.
★★★★ “intimate naturalism; rough comedy; epic
monumentality... drama, music and movement are
combined to potent effect.” The Observer
Headline Events Fund
The Headline Events Fund supports large scale festivals
that can make a measurable contribution to priority
outcomes identified in through community planning
process and the DCSDC Tourism, and Arts and Culture
strategies. Headline Events have the potential to attract
visitors from outside of the DCSDC area with the
event showcasing the DCSDC area as a unique tourist
destination. Fund recipients reflect a diverse arts and
cultural ecosystem and include festivals celebrating
and advancing Music (Choral, Traditional, Electronic,
Classical), Circus & Street Arts, Community Arts, STEAM,
Film & Screen.
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Celtronic 2023: A Photo Ravestory
Image: Kerrie at Castle Gate, Derry.
With our ‘No Phones/Cameras on the Dancefloor Policy’
at Celtronic 2023. Emmett McLaughlin snapped the
festival headliners at locations across the city.
Celtronic is one of Ireland’s premier electronic music
festivals. Established in 2000, Celtronic promotes the
creation and performance of world class electronic music.
Celtronic features collaborative local and international
producer, production, artist and industry support
programmes and showcases national/international acts
alongside the best emerging acts across all genres of
electronic music in venues across Derry. Celtronic attracts
local, national and international audiences. “Celtronic
contributions to the local electronic music scene has
been immeasurable over the years.” The Guardian
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Community Festivals Fund
The Community Festivals Fund recognises the potential
contribution that festivals can make to communities,
to the local economy and wider Government policy
priorities. The primary purpose of the community
festivals fund is to improve the capacity of community
led festivals and make and enable community
organisations to celebrate cultural identity and to
strengthen community relations.
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Strabane Ethnic Community
Association (SECA): Diwali
Festival 2023
Strabane Ethnic Community Association have been
running the Diwali Festival since 2006. Diwali is an Indian
Festival which celebrates new beginnings, the triumph
of good over evil and light over darkness. SECA’s 3
Day festival allows the local community to express and
celebrate Indian culture through Indian art, dance, music
food and clothes. The festival works closely with schools
and community groups and actively promotes good
relations, social inclusion and diversity awareness.
Cultural Organisations
Fund
This fund was established in recognition of the
contribution that our cultural organisations can make
to communities, to the local economy and wider
Government policy priorities.
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Greater Shantallow Community Arts
Greater Shantallow Community Arts is a community
arts organisation based in the Outer North Area of
Derry. Through a diverse programme of arts and cultural
activity, GSCA aims to address complex social issues,
enrich lives and increase access to the arts. GSCA’s
Studio 2 offers facilities, services and programmes that
target those people at greatest risk of social exclusion
and marginalisation and provides formal and informal
creative learning opportunities utilising the services of
professional artists, arts practice and arts facilitators.
Image: ‘Spill the Tae’, a youth led mental health podcast
at Studio 2.
Access & Inclusion Grant Aid
The primary purpose of this fund is to improve the
accessibility of our cultural organisations contributing
to the Community Planning action of “…promoting
accessible cultural experiences”.
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Millennium Forum: Changing Places
& Accessibility improvements for
performers and audiences
The Millennium Forum is one of many Cultural Venues to
benefit from the Access Grant Aid Programme. Using
their Access Audit, the millennium Forum successfully
applied to make changes to their front and back of house
improving accessibility for both their audience members
and performers.
Heritage Animation & Visitor
Servicing Programme
The Heritage Animation Programme is focused on the
delivery of an animation and visitor servicing programme
specifically targeting the participation of heritage venues
within the Council area.
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Museum of Free Derry
Museum of Free Derry hosts permanent and temporary
exhibitions and delivers a year-round programme of
events and exhibitions as well as collaborations with
schools, universities, community groups and local and
international museums.
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DCSDC Individual Artist
and Cultural Practitioner
Awards
This fund aims to support local artists and practitioners
to develop skills and opportunities in the creation of new
work.
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Abridged
Still from ABRIDGED 0 – 85: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE
LOVED: SINÉAD O’DONNELL – BACKWARD.
Curated by Gregory McCartney. Supported by Derry
City & Strabane District Council and DDASF 1 (Deaf &
Disabled Artist Support Fund 1). Managed by University
of Atypical.
“This work challenges the barriers that we face as
disabled people navigating society and the built
environment. Over time the social and political upheavals
and injustices against women have been breathed into
the meaning of the work influenced by what place I am
in and what the freedoms are for women and how they
differ from culture to culture.” Artist, Sinéad O’Donnell
Access & Inclusion
Programme
The Access & Inclusion Programme works to deliver
practical supports and advocacy in partnership with the
pan disability community towards removing barriers to
full access and participation in arts and cultural activity.
This includes supporting and delivering improvements to
physical access, training opportunities, awareness raising
and celebratory initiatives.
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Wild Ones
Created by Brona Jackson and produced by Replay
Theatre Company is a 30min, live, immersive sensory
dance theatre experience for children under 5 who are
neurodivergent and/or have profound and multiple
learning disabilities (PMLD).
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Launch of the Access and Inclusion
Model (AIM)
Resource Pack at Void Gallery in 2021, supported by the
Public Health Agency in partnership with Developing
Healthy Communities.
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Singing Mamas workshop
Anna Nolan undertook ‘Singing Mamas’ leader training in
Swindon before delivering pilot programmes which led to
further engagement and employment opportunities for
Anna and enhanced health and well-being impacts for
participants.
“Thanks for giving me the opportunity to start this
journey. I have every intention to continue on this track.
Being able to do this training has been such a rewarding
experience!” Anna Nolan
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Thank you
arts & culture Co-Delivery
Group members 2021-23:
Kevin Murphy, Chairperson
The Playhouse
Marc Geagan
North West Regional College
Cian Smyth
Ulster University Development & Alumni Relations
Thomas Maguire
Ulster University Arts and Humanities
Edel MacBride
Individual Artist & Craft
Eibhlin Ni Dhochartaigh
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin
Kyle Thompson
North West Cultural Partnership
Lisa Heaney
Millennium Forum
Cath McBride
In Your Space Circus
Michael Cooper
Derry Blue Badge
Ollie Green
Greater Shantallow Community Arts
Rachel Melaugh
In Your Space Circus
Sarika Shah
Individual Artist, Sarika Art
Steve Batts
Echo Echo Dance Theatre
Assumpta O’Neill
Visit Derry