Info Events To Be Held On Belfast 2024 Programme

Belfast City Council has encouraged people to attend info events during February to find out how they can get involved in its Belfast 2024 programme.

The £5.9 million Belfast 2024 programme adds to the council's existing support for culture and arts, and invites citizens to get creative, through an exciting mix of new cultural commissions and people-led programmes between March and November.

The Belfast 2024 programme includes a series of projects developed by creatives in partnership with citizens across the city. Each project will be shaped by input of participants, creating a diverse range of creative outputs across the year.

They include a biodiversity initiative with communities (Wild Belfast), a textile-based hub for all ages championing mental health (Show Some Love Green House), a musical celebration of the Townsend Street interface area with Ulster Orchestra and a collaborative growing initiative with artists and gardeners based around Black Mountain Shared Space in west Belfast (Guerrilla Walls).

The information events are as follows:

• Monday 5 February, 10am-11.30am – Aleksander’s Bakery, 20 University Avenue

• Friday 9 February, 10am-11.30am – Seven Coffee, 7 Glen Road

• Monday 12 February, 10am-11.30am – 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast city centre

• Wednesday 14 February, 10am-11.30am – Templemore Baths café, 96 Templemore Avenue

• Thursday 15 February, 10am-11.30am – The Café at the Duncairn, Duncairn Arts Centre

• A Belfast 2024 open day will also be held at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast city centre on Thursday 29 February, 10am-5pm. Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy, said: "Belfast City Council already has a strong track record of over 30 years supporting our arts sector. It’s now time to move up a gear, by combining must-see activities and grassroots, community-led programmes to create something that is absolutely unique to Belfast, focusing on our three themes – People, Place and Planet.

"Belfast 2024 isn’t an events-led programme in the traditional sense – we already have such an amazing calendar of cultural festivals, exhibitions and events taking place each month, much of which is supported by council. Instead, Belfast 2024 offers an additional layer of support to the sector, following on from the pandemic, by commissioning bespoke projects which will only be brought to life once participants begin to engage with them.

"This is what our arts community have told us they need – support for jobs, in retaining and attracting talent and in showcasing the potential of arts and culture to drive footfall into Belfast and become a genuine lever for our local economy.

"As the year develops, we will begin to see new events taking shape, brand new locations being used for creativity as people get involved and begin to experience their communities and neighbourhoods in new and interesting ways - outside of what we usually think of as ‘culture’. Alongside that, we will have amazing, evocative – and I’d go as far as to say iconic – experiences which will be announced later this spring, bringing people into our city centre to share something emotive and memorable and putting Belfast firmly on the cultural map.

"I'd encourage everyone to come along to the info sessions coming up or stop by our drop-in open day in 2 Royal Avenue on 29 February. This is the year to get creative, get involved and think about the arts in a new way – come to an event, go to a workshop, join us to experience something different and exciting."