Northern Ireland’s Arts Council has been told to prepare for a £1.1m budget cut in the next financial year.
The Arts Council, which had been expecting a £1.6m increase, is likely to have a £15.4m budget for 2010-11.
The reduction has been driven by budget cuts of £367m across government departments in Northern Ireland for 2010-11.
The Arts Council said commitments to projects including the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast meant “it would be difficult to maintain even standstill funding for the majority of the sector”.
