The Party’s East Londonderry Assembly candidate – who is also a well-known local poet – said she was ‘honoured’ to read alongside a number of writers from the Coleraine and Limavady area at the WomenAloudNI event in Coleraine.
She added: “This ground breaking project aims to raise women’s voices and awareness about local women’s talent, especially on International Women’s Day.
“The arts are an essential part of our society. Not only do they help us to develop creativity, but much evidence indicates that investment in arts and leisure has benefits for both well-being and the economy.
“Alliance supports investment in the arts at all levels, but for this to be sustainable, given funding cuts, and to maintain per capita spending at as the average spend on arts in the UK, we need to continue to review effectiveness.
“We want to see the establishment of an Arts Funding Review, aimed at examining the historical underfunding of the sector, and to examine more sustainable funding arrangements going forward – including three year budgeting and improved business models within arts and cultural organisations.
“We also need a specific strategy improve access by sections of the community with low uptake rates.
“I therefore congratulate the organisers for the WomenAloudNI project who galvanised a wide range of voluntary effort and commitment among women from every area and genre to become involved in today’s event and I look forward to further outcomes from the momentum created.”