Arts Council of Northern Ireland

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan) is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to the Committee for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA).^[1]

Arts Council of Northern Ireland logo

As the main development agency for the arts it is responsible for the distribution of Exchequer and National Lottery Funding for the arts in Northern Ireland.^[2] The council is headquartered at Linen Hill House, 23 Linenhall Street, Lisburn.^[3] Organisationally it is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Communities.

Notable projects

• Audiences NI
• Belfast Festival at Queens
• Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
• Culture Northern Ireland
• Féile an Phobail

See also

• List of Government departments and agencies in Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland Screen
• Arts Council (Ireland), with which it works closely