Prepared Statement for ACNI AFP Meeting, 6th May 2025

We are here today to strongly contest the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s decision to completely cut annual funding to Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company.

We would prefer for a meeting of such importance to be in person.

There has been public outcry at this decision. People from all walks of life have described the decision as, and we quote, “scandalous”, “shocking”, “vindictive”, and “unbelievable”.

We have been moved at the outpouring of support and love for the company, its people and the impact of its work.

We know how valued and appreciated Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company is by so many different people: audiences, artists, colleagues, partners, schools, institutions and the general public. Many hundreds have already responded from across so many different locations, contexts, sectors and countries.

This is a terrible decision with no basis in fact or reason.

If this decision stands, it will be terminal for the company. Full-time jobs will be lost, artists will lose employment opportunities, confirmed projects with funding in place or in development are put at risk, and an incredible, bespoke arts centre that has been described as one of the best anywhere in the country will close.

Public and private capital investment of around £650k, which the Arts Council NI encouraged and supported directly with £120k of equipment grants, will be wasted along with one of the last physical legacies of Derry’s year of culture. A treasured public resource in Derry used by many, many tens of thousands of people to date will be lost.

Significant public funding of £1.5million towards core and programming costs provided to Echo Echo via Arts Council NI in the last 12 years will be wasted.

We are particularly disappointed that there was no prior warning of this decision despite our long-standing client relationship. There was no consultation or request for clarification on the draft programme or budget since the application was submitted last December 2024. A past Arts Council board member has described this method of communicating with us as “brutal”.

We have read the detailed feedback provided on the application and we will contest this in the strongest possible manner. We will provide detailed written feedback on all of the points raised. We will only touch upon some of our concerns now in this statement.

Artistic Quality

The last external Artistic Review of the company’s work, per Annual Funding Programme T&Cs that we know of was in 2013. It was excellent, and there have been none since.

Arts Council NI has funded 32 funding applications by Echo Echo in the last 12 years since then and not a single question regarding artistic quality was raised with us.

We ask if the artistic assessors are aware of the long list of artists – local, national and international – that we have hosted at Echo Echo Studios for residencies, exchanges and Festivals?

Your feedback questions the international status of Echo Echo Festival of Dance and Movement and the status of its many hundreds of participating artists. We are totally astounded by that.

Your feedback demonstrates a shocking lack of understanding of Echo Echo’s practice and programmes of the last 20 years as the leading dance client of Arts Council NI. It contradicts many public statements made previously by Arts Council NI staff about the quality and importance of our work.

Financial Health

Despite an ongoing arts funding crisis in Northern Ireland, Echo Echo finished the recent 2024/25 financial year with a surplus – having raised and generated an additional £128k alongside its AFP award of £112k.

The company has grown its reserves to over £75k in recent years despite increasing costs, substantial real funding cuts and increasing competition for smaller funding pots.

It has generated foreign income from Sweden, Romania, Italy and Ireland in the last 12 months alone. Any funds generated by the Artistic Director’s work are retained in the company as unrestricted income and not used to supplement the below average full-time salary for that post.

The company would be a going concern for all of the current financial year 2025/26 on AFP standstill funding.

What other organisation of our scale had had the support of so many Trusts and Foundations with more than £300k grant funding in last 12 years?

What other organisation with similar resource levels has approached its fundraising efforts with such entrepreneurship?

Our finances have been managed impeccably by a Company Manager who is a part qualified accountant. Echo’s annual accounts are audited annually. ACNI carried out a core grant Verification Visit last year with not a single question arising.

Planning

It appears that Echo Echo’s open and transparent governance has been weaponised against us. Your feedback clearly uses our honest and reflective minutes against us.

We have raised key strategic issues with you, as one of our key stakeholders, nearly three years in advance – is this not good planning? What signal does this send about transparency to our peers?

We have complied with all prior terms and conditions of all grant funding. Quarterly reports highlighting challenges, successes and failures have always been submitted diligently with no questions arising from you. Additional communications between Echo Echo directors and staff have been supplied to you with no redaction.

Arts Council NI have replaced quarterly in-person client meetings with short online annual meetings – these have not been held regularly in recent years which was beyond our control.

We all know how difficult attracting and retaining directors for arts organisations is. Echo Echo is pleased to have a group of 5 highly skilled committed directors who play an active role across many aspects of the company and take a keen interest in the company’s work. Echo Echo’s Chair is a retired School Principal with extensive experience of planning as well as HR issues and managing budgets in excess of £500k. The Chair is also a retired Department of Education Schools Inspector – to mention but one of our directors.

Conclusion

If Echo Echo’s AFP funding application met the funding criteria, why do the criticisms you have made so suddenly not form the basis for recommendations rather than a complete funding cut with no warning and with such devastating impacts?

We re-iterate, this is a catastrophic decision with which we profoundly disagree.

We are formally asking for this decision to be reviewed and we will work with you as required to ensure that this is done quickly and efficiently.

We will confirm this in writing to you.

 

Board, Staff and Artists of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company