ACNI is the arts council of Northern Ireland. The ACNI provide funding, support, information and…read morehelp to artists and organisations in the arts sector. They support many local initiatives / businesses / developments. Their range covers such sectors as visual arts, film and television, literature, opera, youth arts, voluntary arts, drama, dance and craft (though this list includes many more genres) Although the process of applying for funding can be very time consuming, it can offer many invaluable opportunities. They show a featured artist on their website which changes regularly. The ACNI website details the exact desrcitpion of the council which is : a non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Culture Art and Leisure (DCAL). It is governed by a board, known as the Council, which sets the strategic direction for the Arts Council and oversees the work of the Executive. The Council consists of the Chairman, Ms Rosemary Kelly, plus 14 members and meets on a regular basis. The Chief Executive has responsibility, under the Council, for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Arts Council and for its procedures in financial and other matters, including conduct and discipline. Check out the website for more information. Their 'links' section is particularly useful to use as a springboard for finding out more detailed advice and follow ons.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the leading developmental agency for the arts in NI. They…read morefund and provide information to all sectors of the arts in Northern Ireland. It is responsible for the distribution of National Lottery Funding for the arts in Northern Ireland. The council is headquartered at MacNeice House on the Malone Road in Belfast. Organisationally it is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. There is a sculpture park in the grounds of MacNeice House featuring work by local sculptors. They are also responsible for festivals like: Belfast Festival at Queen, the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Culture Northern Ireland and Féile an Phobail. More information is detailed on their easy to use website.

Young At Art is a lovely little organisation who are mostly known for organising and delivering the…read moreBelfast Children's Festival, but who also work all year round encouraging young people to get involved in all aspects of the arts. They organsie different events throughout the year - things like exhibitions, competitions and events in schools. As far as I know they are fairly new (well, the Children's Festival is anyway), so it'd be a real shame if they were the victim of the funding cuts that are coming...

Mossley Mill, the other name for this centre which includes council offices and exhibition space in…read moreaddition to the theatre, is a triumph in the art of repurposing an old industrial building. The architects have come up with a glass fronted extension to the Victorian mill which looks brilliant especially with original chimney standing beside it - a wonderful combination of modernity and history, on an impressive hillside site. It's certainly drawing plenty of people, at least there was a good number of visitors on the evening I saw a powerful exhibition there about Anne Frank, which was on tour and is now moved elsewhere. There is a wide programme entertainment on offer at the theatre throughout the winter including both professional productions and shows involving local groups hopefully providing a healthy mix of culture and community.

Went to Theatre at the Mill for the first time this week to see the Harlem Gospel Choir. I was very…read moreimpressed with the theatre, particularly the setting- the restored mill is stunning! The acoustics were great so at times, the choir was able to sing without microphones. The theatre has free parking and a licensed bar. I will definitely look to see what future shows are coming up!

I am obsessed with theatre, in a Glen Close crazy kinda way. I'm also a little shocked at the lack…read moreof attention being given to the lyric. It is internationally renowned, the starting ground for many careers (such as Liam Neeson) and one of the most wonderful theatres I've been to. Currently being refurbished, the new theatre will have three performance spaces. It's difficult to review this, considering I have no crystal ball, however the plans and drawings on the lyrics website for the new theatre look impressive. This is not a theatre to be intimidated by; the staff are incredibly friendly and the bar is, as far as I can remember, reasonably priced. It's a nice excuse to get dressed up, but if you don't, well that's OK too. Ticket prices are normally around £10, which I think is pretty reasonable. The most recent productions I've seen at the Lyric, have been The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Miser. The former being one of my favourite productions and moreover my long suffering boyfriend liked it; he has never liked anything he has seen at the theatre and normally leaves cursing what we've seen and cursing me! The Lyric remains my favourite theatre in Northern Ireland, for classic and contemporary plays, surprises and a great night.

Dana Masters originally from South Carolina, has made Lisburn and Northern Ireland her home. In…read more2012 herself and Linley Hamilton had a weekly Jazz residence in McHugh's basement bar. Being a huge fan of Jazz Music, I was privileged to be at the very first performance and was blown away by the talent of Dana and the other musicians. There is only a few vocalists that makes the back of my neck tingle when listening to them and that's what makes them special and world class. I looked forward to going every Saturday, close my eyes and enjoy the music. It did not feel like I was in Belfast at all. Sometimes I even had to pinch myself as I listened to the sublime weekly performance. The news soon spread and McHughs Jazz sessions soon had a cult following of faithful fans and at times you couldn't get into the basement for the amount of people. In 2014, I was not surprised that 11,000 at Proms in the Park were all talking about Dana as performance of the night. We've adopted Dana Masters as one of Northern Ireland's top vocalists. "Dana Masters is one of those musicians and not only were we able to relax and enjoy the richness of her undeniably flawless voice, we were also treated to a showcase of some of the finest Jazz instrumentalists in the UK & Ireland." Jude Malone, GiggingNI.com More than 350 music fans gave Dana Masters and her band a standing ovation at the Lyric Theatre Belfast on Monday night. The performance included the old Civil Rights anthem 'A Change is Gonna Come', dedicating it to her mother, a strong supporter of Martin Luther King. Dana was accompanied by Linley Hamilton on trumpet, Johnny Taylor on keyboards, Paul Hamilton on drums, , Dave Howell on saxophone, Paddy Groenland, lead guitar and Charlie Foley, bass guitar. One of my favourite songs was the cover of John Legend's Ordinary People . The band played all five of the tracks on the EP - Motherless Child, My Funny Valentine, Blue Moon, Like a Star by Corinne Bailey Rae, finishing the set with a beautiful version of Charlie Chaplin's Smile. This was an amazing showcase for N.Ireland's jazz scene.

Not just for culture vultures, The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (aka CQAF) is for everyone. It's…read morean annual celebration of visual art, comedy, theatre, music and literature. A lively and exciting festival with 150 events happening in 30 venues across Belfast but mainly concentrated in the Cathedral Quarter and Custom House Square. I absolutely love it and you'll find both popular and more obscure events happening. One of my favourites from a couple of years ago in 2014 was South Saharan band Tinariwen. A fabulous music concert and a band who I would never even have heard of if it weren't for CQAF. This year the 2016 program looks amazing and I'm already circling dates in my diary for the following events: ~ Vegstock, a vegetarian festival 02/05/2016 ~ Guy Garvey in concert 01/05/2016 ~ Ursula Burns, comedy harpist 04/05/2016 ~ Seeing Through Your Eyes: The Photographs of Peter Dressler 1972-2003, 01/04 - 14/05/2016 ~ Late Night Art Walking Tour 05/05/2016 ~ Monochrome in Cathedral Studios, 6 Artists respond to the theme 'monochrome' 05/05/2016 ~ Wet Plate portraits by Matthew Gordon and Jim Maginn 28/04 - 28/05/2016 ~ Rumpelstiltskin Revisited, knitted paintings by Jacqueline Wylie 29/04 - 10/06/2016 ~ The Death of Orpheus and Other Myths, screen prints by Leo Boyd 28/04 - 28/05/2016 There are a lot more events happening between 28 April and 8 May 2016, so go check the programme out online at http://cqaf.com/2016/

The Cathedral Quarter is a bit of a cultural monster in Belfast at the minute, and the Cathedral…read moreQuarter Arts Festival showcases the variety of arts on offer in Belfast to perfection. It's slightly less mainstream than the Belfast Festival at Queen's, so you might not recognise that many names when you go through the programme (I know I don't, anyway!), but don't let that put you off. Most of the events are very reasonably priced, so take a chance and go see a blues artist, or a stand-up you've never heard of, or a debate on modern architecture in Belfast - you might just be surprised! Belfast is fast becoming a city of festivals - we have one for everything! But the Cathedral Quarter has managed to separate itself from the crowd by providing a programme that is at once populist and alternative, providing support and inspiration for the arts in Belfast, and that can't be a bad thing, right?

I know of the existence of The AmmA Centre which is located in Market House, above Armagh City…read moreLibrary, but have never used it, so here's a bit of info from their website about them: "The AmmA Centre is a multimedia creative learning centre in the Education Authority (Southern Region), Northern Ireland. It is a centre where digital technology alongside traditional media can be used creatively by organisations and individuals from schools, the youth sector and the community. The facility provides opportunities for individuals and groups to learn skills in: Digital video editing and camera techniques Digital Story Telling Animation Multi-media design Music composition and sound recording Through the creation of video productions, musical soundtracks, animated films and web pages, new pathways to learning will evolve and thereby enhance and enrich the educational experiences for any individual involved in the process. The development of skills, creativity and networks has the potential to contribute to individuals' future education choices, training and employment prospect. Facilities Schools, youth and community groups can avail of the facilities provided by the centre. These can range from booking of rooms for various uses to hiring of the state of the art recording studio. For further details please contact us." WEBSITE: http://www.ammacentre.org Sounds good to me! However I can vouch for the building the AmmA Centre is housed in as being a beautiful, square, Georgian style building dating from 1815 (the building itself is called Market House). On Armagh Georgian Day each year (normally late November/ early December) there's a light show projected onto the building which is fabulous and very entertaining. Worth a visit just to admire the building.

Island Arts Centre is a well equipped, modern venue that runs an impressive programme of theatre…read moreshows, exhibitions, concerts and community arts activities. I've been there to watch a community youth drama production in the small studio theatre, and recently saw an excellent exhibition of student art. There is always plenty going on there in terms of classes and performances, doing a really good job of both serving the community around Lisburn with arts activities while at the same time drawing in some top notch professional productions. Inside the centre is incredibly well appointed and laid out while the outdoor surroundings are interesting for the canal and lock just outside which from which on a good day you could also enjoy a walk up the Lagan Valley.

Been to a few gigs here and think it's great venue. Good sized car park, well stocked bar and…read morecentrally located. It's a very intimate venue, great for gigs and plays. The only negative i can think of is that the bar area could do with more seats and you can't bring drinks into the auditorium.

This festival is absolutely brilliant, not because it showcases films, but because it attracts top…read moretalent to Belfast to give workshops on the likes of acting, scriptwriting and television presenting to local young people. You regularly see names such as Dermot O'Leary and Sally Lindsay appearing, attracting the young ones in droves. In a city with high unemployment and poor school-university ratios in many areas, the Cinemagic programme has the potential to attract young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and give them the skills they need to break into the creative industries. Every year, rave reviews of the workshops emerge so it's clear that they're well received.