News

Welcome to the second edition of Blueprint Fringe where we'll be sharing all the latest news from the Arts & Business NI Blueprint Programme, and updates from the organisations that are taking part.

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Blueprint August 2023 Round-up 

Over the past quarter, we’ve been busy consulting with our Blueprint programme participants taking stock of the programme so far, celebrating successes and looking forward to the future. We’ve also fine-tuned our training programme for the year, to ensure we are maximising opportunities for Blueprint participants continued, learning, knowledge sharing and growth. We are incredibly proud of everything our arts organisations have achieved so far thanks to the programme and have shared some of our latest good news stories below.

We are also gearing-up for our first ever Northern Ireland Arts Funders Exchange which is due to take place in early October, this event serves as a unique platform for funders of the arts in Northern Ireland to connect, exchange ideas, and engage in meaningful conversations. We will focus on the sustainability of the arts sector in Northern Ireland, exploring the challenging nature of the current funding landscape and will discuss how we can enable change and help arts and cultural organisations to thrive. If you are currently engaged in funding the arts in NI and are interested in attending please email s.jones@artsandbusinessni.org.uk to find out more.

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Making Music Accessible to All

Thanks to Blueprint Programme financial support, Andersonstown Traditional & Contemporary Music School have acquired a commercial retail unit within the Kennedy Centre, a multi-level shopping centre in Belfast. This is an exciting development as it has provided the facilities and capacity needed to develop and deliver new music classes and activities. Despite an unforeseen delay, the unit fit-out, equipment and instrument suites were successfully installed in June. By July, social media coverage of the new space resulted in 48 new enquiries and a weekly programme was scheduled to accommodate the increased demand. To date, the new programme has included 3 new drum classes, 4 new piano/keyboard classes and the music school has also received interest in other classes including tin whistle, fiddle, bodhrán and guitar. In the run up to the official opening, the music school held a number of mall performances and rehearsals, showcasing their talented drummers, fiddle players, flutists and more to the local community – working to make music accessible to all.

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Art is About Everything and for Everyone 

Blueprint has provided Kids In Control (KIC) with a fantastic opportunity to develop long term plans that will enhance sustainability, reach new diverse audiences, and develop its potential to provide cross sectoral opportunities that will support its vision that ‘Art is about everything and for everyone’. One of KIC’s key aims for this first year of Blueprint has been successfully completed: Inclusive Theatre Practice Training for 4 emerging professional drama facilitators. Engaging them in their unique methodology for profoundly inclusive participatory arts programming, they aimed to upskill the creative sector while growing the pool of artists who can deliver for KIC to meet need and demand.

KIC was delighted by the level of interest expressed in the training programme and will be delivering further opportunities to meet demand. The four trainees Holly Hannaway, Billie Mills, Andrew McCracken and Kathy Moore proved to be outstanding participants, and they are excited to develop their work with KIC over the year ahead. Kids in Control would also like to thank the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and the University of Atypical for their support of the programme.

“The inclusive facilitation training from Kids in Control was a fantastic experience. Not only did we have the chance to learn a variety of new techniques that could be used with participants of all-ages and abilities, but we were given the space to explore our own creative work as theatre-makers. All in all, it was a brilliant experience as a creative facilitator.” -  Inclusive Theatre Practice Training Participant