Building Peace through the Arts - Re-Imaging Communities

Overview

The programme encourages the creation of vibrant and attractive shared public space through the use of the creative arts in the public realm, which will celebrate life, enhance the physical and natural environment and help people feel part of the community in which they live.

Building Peace through the Arts - Re-Imaging Communities is rooted in the building of a shared future for Northern Ireland, which is peaceful, inclusive, prosperous, stable and fair, founded on partnership, equality and mutual respect as a basis of good relationships. In order to help achieve such a society, communities and agencies need to work together to tackle the physical legacy of segregation and division in towns, villages, rural communities and the border areas.

The Building Peace through the Arts - Re-imaging Communities Programme will provide support for a range of projects which meet the strategic themes of the programme:

• Community Cohesion: Work with communities to provide opportunities for more stable, safer neighbourhoods and develop strong, positive relations between people from different backgrounds.
• Regeneration through the Arts: work with communities wanting to develop more inclusive civic and cultural identities through the production of high quality artwork for the public realm.
• Positive Relations at the Local Level: Utilise the arts and arts processes as a means with which to challenge sectarian and racist attitudes and build positive community relations at a local level.
• Build Peace and Reconciliation: Support progress towards a peaceful, shared and stable society and promote reconciliation through community led programmes of arts activities.
• Connecting Communities: Utilise the arts and arts processes as a means in which to connect communities throughout Northern Ireland and the Border Areas.

Projects includes the commissioning of:

• Artwork and removal of symbols including aggressive sectarian and/or racist murals, emblems and graffiti;
• Artwork and tackling of manifestations of sectarianism and racism outside of the main urban areas. The application must include supporting evidence of ways in which sectarianism and racism have affected the communities including physical manifestations including murals, territorial markings, graffiti, flags and emblems (see sources of suggested evidence which follows).
• Artwork which supports projects on a cross-community, inter-community and cross-border level and tackles the signs of sectarianism and racism, within and between communities including social exclusion, fractured relationships and poor community cohesion. Indicators of sectarian and racist tensions can include; contested spaces; issues with flags, bonfires and festival activities; issues surrounding changes to demographic balance; segregation in housing; attacks on halls, churches, memorials, sports clubs etc.; hate-motivated incidents, crimes and intimidation.

Programme Priorities:

There are a number of priority areas for the Building Peace through the Arts – Reimaging Communities Programme. These include;

• Activities that are cross-community, inter-community, cross-border or inter-cultural.
• Activities that target young people (Under 25).
• Activities that target ethnic minority communities as participants.
• Activities that target Council areas which have had little participation in the Arts Council’s Re-imaging Communities Programme, i.e. Fermanagh, Omagh, Strabane, and the border regions of Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.
• Activities that involve the removal of signs of sectarianism and racism along main arterial routes.
• Single-identity projects will need to demonstrate high impact for that community (e.g. evidence of intra-community dialogue and engagement, increased community cohesion) as well as a benefit to the wider community around them.

How much can I apply for?

Depending on the level of funding you are requesting, you will either complete a:

• Small Grants application form (for projects seeking £500 to £15,000)

• Large Grants application form (projects seeking £15,001 to £50,000).

If you are seeking funding for a number of projects you should complete the Multiple Projects form.

In this case the maximum grant to each project will not exceed the individual project limits.

All projects must be discussed before any application is made with a member of the Building Peace through the Arts - Re-Imaging Communities team.