THE TEAM behind Culture Night Belfast have decided to take a "year out" amid plans to scale down the annual event.
The Cathedral Quarter Trust has undertaken a review of the city's contribution to Culture Night and concluded that a “complete rethink” is required in order to address issues raised by those involved.
Since it began in 2009, Culture Night Belfast has grown to become one city's biggest free events, with attendances of around 100,000 in 2019.
But next month's celebration of arts, culture and heritage is being suspended in its familiar form.
Susan Picken, director of Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast, said that while many would be disappointed by the decision, it would pave the way for the development of a new format that aimed to boost Belfast's cultural quarter and the area's arts sector.
"The pandemic and the restrictions of the past two years gave us an opportunity to examine Culture Night Belfast in detail and take the time to ask what exactly we wanted the event to grow into," Ms Picken said.
“One of the questions we had to ask was whether Culture Night Belfast was achieving the outcomes we had originally hoped it would."
The Cathedral Quarter Trust director said the event had become "too big and unwieldy".
"The original intention of providing a platform for our artistic and cultural communities to connect with a much wider audience had been lost," she said.
“We listened to what our stakeholders, partners and audiences had to say and we believe taking a year out to properly develop plans that put art right back at the heart of what we do is the best way forward.”
The strategic review, which was carried out in partnership with Belfast City Council, found arts and culture had become "lost in the overall noise of the event".
“Whilst everyone we spoke to was supportive, everyone was clear Culture Night Belfast needed to change," Ms Picken said.
“At Cathedral Quarter Trust we’re excited about the plans for the future and look forward to sharing them with our colleagues and audience in due course.”
The trust said it would ensure that all previous Culture Night Belfast participants and audiences were kept up to date with developments.
“We realise many who took part previously and those members of the community who look forward to it will be disappointed by the decision to take a year out,” Ms Picken said.
“We want to make sure we are able to give our full attention to successfully planning for the future. We are developing some exciting ideas on how to take the event forward into the future and taking some time to plan is necessary for this.”
The Culture Night Belfast director acknowledged that many people would miss the event, she promised it would return in 2023 "with something even better".
