MAC: Belfast arts centre's future in doubt amid funding concerns

The MAC employs more than 100 people

The future of the MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) in Belfast is in question amid concerns that the Arts Council could cut its funding.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) is the principal funder of the MAC, giving the centre more than £1m annually over the past three years.

But BBC News NI understands this money could be at risk after ACNI conducted a funding review.

The MAC said it was "engaged in ongoing discussions with funders".

More than 100 people are employed at the centre.

The MAC has recently been funded by ACNI on a quarterly basis while the review, due to be completed at the end of July, was carried out, BBC News NI understands.

The BBC has also been made aware that two external audits of financial management at the MAC have been conducted.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the venue said discussions with funders "around the most efficient way to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the MAC" were under way.

"We are confident of a positive outcome in the very near future," they added.

"In the meantime our shows, exhibitions and events all continue as usual."

ACNI declined to comment on its funding of the venue.

SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite said Belfast City Council wants to ensure the Mac has "long-term viability", adding it is "worth saving".

Séamas de Faoite said it was really important for Belfast not to lose places such as the MAC

He criticised "sustained" budget cuts within the arts, warning of a "devastating impact" that will "take years to rebuild".

"We have a lot of concerns about making sure we protect Belfast's cultural and arts spaces and the MAC is one of those," he said.

"We want to make sure it has long-term viability to keep the doors open. I think it's really, really important that we don't lose any of those types of spaces."

He added: "We know that for every pound you put into cultural and arts funding here there's a £13 return for the local economy.

"It not only provides that kind of arts and culture and entertainment value to people, but there's also a real value in terms of the jobs it creates."

'Significant doubt'

In the most recent accounts for the MAC, filed on 1 January 2023 and available via Companies House, an independent auditor said there was "a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group and the parent charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern".

The accounts also said the MAC board was forecasting a deficit of £150,028 for the year ending 31 March 2023.

Since opening at the heart of Belfast's Cathedral Quarter in 2012, the state-of-the-art facility has had almost 2.5 million visitors, hosting more than 3,000 live performances and 45 visual art exhibitions.

But it is not the first time the MAC, which contains two theatres, three visual art galleries, a dance studio, workshops, a café and a bar, has run into financial difficulty.

It cost more than £17m to build - nearly twice the projected cost before construction began.

In 2016, almost £1m of public money was spent to repair the façade of the building.

The facility, which also receives £75,000 annually from Belfast City Council, asked for £300,000 of public money in 2017 in order to "keep the doors open".

It then asked for an additional £50,000 from the council in 2018/19 and £220,000 from the Department for Communities and the Arts Council.

The MAC's current programme of advertised events runs until April 2024.