Test Drive the Arts NI - About Us

Test Drive the Arts NI is an audience development initiative, funded by Belfast City Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and managed by Audiences NI. Similar initiatives have run across the UK and further afield, including Sweden and Australia. The initiative takes the concept of taking a car for a test drive and applies it to the arts. Research shows that many people who try the arts for the first time will discover how much they enjoy the experience and go on to become attenders. The initiative uses unsold tickets and therefore availability is strictly limited. A range of arts organisations are involved in the initiative, including Belfast Film Festival, Belfast Waterfront, the Grand Opera House, Lyric, Moving on Music, Queen's Film Theatre, Ulster Hall and Ulster Orchestra with many more to come.

The initiative will be based in Belfast initially and will roll out across Northern Ireland in March / April 2010. A number of regional organisations have signed up to take part including the Alley Theatre in Strabane, the Market Place Theatre in Armagh, Millennium Forum in Derry / Londonderry and the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.

Audiences NI is the audience development agency for Northern Ireland. If you want to know more about us please visit our website.

Sponsor

fonaCAB is proud to sponsor Test Drive the Arts NI, providing a quality taxi service for a great night out.

Partners

Audiences NI is delighted to partner with CultureNorthernIreland, Northern Ireland's leading cultural website and KDS Systems who provide free internet access in kiosks across Northern Ireland.

Audiences NI is also delighted that the Sunday Life have come on board as Media Partner, with a weekly column dedicated to Test Drive the Arts NI.