Thirteen ethnic minority artists have been awarded grants to support their work and careers in Northern Ireland.
The grants, with a combined worth of nearly £50,000, are to help them develop their creative practice and support their professional careers.
The investment has been made by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through the National Lottery Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Scheme and will support artists working across a range of disciplines including music, visual art, community arts and literature.
The creation of the programme has been informed by the Arts Council’s Intercultural Arts Strategy and framed within its current business plan.
Gilly Campbell, joint director of arts development at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said the programme “will directly support our growing community of minority ethnic artists, living and working in Northern Ireland”.
“It will provide the vital support they need to develop their practice, create new creative connections and build future career opportunities,” she said.
“Through this programme, we are seeking to create the conditions for the widest variety of art and creativity for both artists and audiences, addressing the numerous and complex barriers to access, progression and representation in the arts encountered by minority ethnic artists.”
Siobhan Brown is a singer and songwriter who was awarded just shy of £3,000 by the scheme.
Her band Manukahunney is well established on the NI music scene, she also leads the Cairde community choir and is the presenter of Radio Ulster’s first dedicated soul music show.
Ms Brown has been releasing material since 2018 and is a vocal coach, facilitator and mentor to community groups.
With investment from the Arts Council, Ms Brown aims to develop her vocal abilities, mentored by acclaimed British jazz vocalist and composer Randolph Matthews.
The Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Programme is part of the Arts Council’s Support for Individual Artists Programme.
It was established in 2022 to give targeted support to minority ethnic artists and creative practitioners.
The Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Programme aims to create opportunities for specialised training, research, cultural exchange, networking and learning for individual artists, creative practitioners and arts administrators, with artists receiving grants of up to £5,000 each.
Anna Ramzy is a composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and sound designer awarded £4,675 by the fund.
Ms Ramzy studied classical, opera, musical theatre and folk singing and plays piano, guitar, ukulele and kalimba.
She will use the funds to work as a composer in residence with Ulster Touring Opera, under the mentorship of Dafydd Hall Williams, Greg Caffrey and Giselle Allen.
Her plans include the composition of an original five to 10-minute opera scene, including finding appropriate text, scoring music and collaborative iteration.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead funding and development agency for the Arts providing support to arts projects throughout the region, through its Treasury and The National Lottery funds.
