FORMER tenants of Belfast’s Cathedral Buildings, which was devastated by a fire, are set to benefit from funding to help sustain their work.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland said £154,696 will be shared among 13 former tenants of the listed building on Donegall Street that was destroyed in the blaze last October.
It said the funding would help "reactivate their work, sustain their artistic practice and manage existing projects".
More than £3 million worth of damage was caused to the building, which was built more than a century ago, and was home to several shops and small creative businesses and studios.
The building had been a hub for the creative community, with several artists and a violin repair business among those to have lost nearly everything.
Following the fire, the Arts Council, in partnership with the Department for Communities and Belfast City Council, launched the Cathedral Buildings Fire Support Programme. It offered former tenants funding to counter the costs incurred as they relocate and seek to re-establish themselves.
Aidan Mulholland, who ran his violin repair business on the top floor of the building for over 30 years, is set to receive £45,280 of funding.
The bow maker and restorer of stringed instruments said he will use the money to replace specialised tools, wood and instrument parts, as well as re-stock antique violins, violas and cellos for restoration - the basis of his specialist work.
"Assistance from the Cathedral Buildings Fire Support Programme will allow me to get my business back, and to offer my customers the same level of service," he said.
"I can return to bow making once I replace the specialist tools and wood I lost in the fire.
"Local string players will have a full repair/restoration service for their instruments and have somewhere to purchase restored quality violins."
Another recipient is Digital Arts Studios (DAS), a non-profit organisation that provides artists' residencies, equipment hire, training, outreach and exhibitions.
The business will use their funding to replace equipment used by visual artists on the DAS residency programme and by participants in their in-studio workshops, training and support hub services.
Angela Halliday from DAS said the money will "help purchase essential equipment for artists to use to develop skills and create new work".
Suzanne Lyle from the Arts Council said the funding is vital to "those whose livelihoods were devastated" by the fire.
"This funding is absolutely critical in helping these artists and arts organisations reactivate their work, sustain their artistic practice and manage existing projects," she said.
John Ball from the Department for Communities said support to those impacted is "a signal of the importance placed on the people and organisations who work to make our arts sector what it is".
Ryan Murphy from Belfast City Council said the programme had given "businesses and cultural organisations vital support and I wish them all every success in their new locations".
