Opis organizacije

The Crescent is a diverse community arts centre which has served the population of Belfast and beyond with a wide range of arts and cultural activities for almost 30 years. It is housed in an historic four storey listed building built originally in 1873. The neutral location of the building, with central rail and bus access encourages visits and attendance from all communities, and has provided excellent opportunities for cross-community work. The outreach programme is developing and growing, embracing new arts and cultural developments and creating new partnerships.The programme offered by the Crescent embraces the visual arts, many forms of dance and movement, verbal arts, music in many forms, theatre and drama activities, crafts, and an extensive programme of activities and workshops for young people. The wide-ranging programme has been a key and critical provider of culturally diverse activities throughout the centre’s existence. Many of those attending classes and workshops in the Crescent have had their first encounter there with a particular art form or activity. Professional tutors work with all ages, ranges of ability and disability, and at all levels of expertise. There are two key festivals each year, ‘Belfast Book Festival’, and ‘Citydance’. The building is used extensively by local arts and performance groups for a diverse range of activities. Exhibitions are held in the dedicated gallery spaces. The performance space “The Cube” is used for many different types of events including local theatre performances, music events, children’s activities and literary events.There are also a number of tenant organizations based in The Crescent and current tenants include a youth arts organization working with marginalized communities and an organization focused on enabling participation in the arts for people with disabilities. The target group for the Crescent is the community in the widest sense. All ages are involved, from classes such as “Baby Art” (2-3 years old), “Ickle Street Dance” (4-8 years old) and “Italian for Children” (5-10 years old) through to the Elderflowers Dance Theatre for older people. A wide range of classes and activities take place within the Centre itself and outreach activities are targeted at those who may be less likely to become involved in arts activities.There are currently 10 core staff, a team of approximately 20 volunteers and around 90 part-time tutors based in the Crescent Arts Centre. A substantial number of these staff and volunteers have been involved with the Crescent for many years.