Itâs very simple, but also very effective. Starting again in April 2024 on the last Tuesday of each month we will host a get together with a small group of self-employed creative women or women in the process of starting a creative business to chat about business and life. Each person will get the chance to speak. Sharing their monthly progress, plans for the following month, future goals and aspirations as well as any challenges they may be facing. This process gives you the opportunity to connect with and learn from like-minded creative women and helps with motivation, accountability, goal setting and planning.
As we want the group to be a safe-space for sharing we will be limiting numbers to a maximum of 8 participants. There is no cost to joining the group, but to ensure commitment and suitability participants need to fill in a short online registration to secure a space.
If you can use the online registration form to register and if you have any questions about the group email christine@blickstudios.org
Happy Monday! It`s back to typical NI rainy weather! But it`s always cosy in our Cotton Court studios in the cathedral quarter, right opposite the Merchant Hotel!
Our next Blick Academy Creative Talk with a local creative is coming up on Wednesday 5th June with Blick resident, designer and @yeomagazine founder Saul Duffin sharing his creative story, you can find out more about Saul below!
ABOUT SAUL
Hello there! My name is Saul Duffin and I like to spin creative plates.
I started a publication in 2020 called YEO Magazine while finishing my degree in graphic design and amid an existential crisis. I concluded that I wanted to use my skills to help celebrate local artists, create a brand I felt was missing from the city, and gain experience as a freelancer.
While still building my career, over the past 4 years I have published 6 print magazines, ran over 50 music and comedy events, and celebrated hundreds of creatives through YEO Magazine â along with working with brands like The Dead Rabbit, AVA Festival, and RĂ-RĂĄ Lager.
I have also worked on social media marketing for Maine Lemonade and spoken at Belfast City Councilâs Music Industry Sessions on how artists can use social media to help their careers.
Fusing my interests with my career is something I find important to explore, so I have also tried my hand at stand-up comedy, event compèring, DJing, and poetry reading.
I look forward to sharing some of my creative journeys, failings, and lessons with you all at Blick Studios next month!
EVENT DETAILS:
Event Date(s): June 5, 2024
Event Time: 7pm
Location: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB
Cost: Free
Sign up now for your free ticket on our website â¨ď¸ (link in bio)
We have had a hectic few weeks with a big funding deadline last week, so only getting caught up with ourselves. We will be doing a write up on our last Blick Academy event with Paul Boal from Clever Ghost sharing his creative story this week. In the meantime here is a bit more info on Paul from an interview he gave us before his talk earlier this month!
Our next Blick Animation Club event in partnership with Can Do Academy is on Saturday 18th May!
These mini animation master classes by Can Do Academy are a great introduction for children to the colourful world of Lego animation!
The workshop will allow participants to make a complete animated Lego film on an iPad, using sound effects, visual effects, titles and lots of imagination!
Your child will learn to use special iPad apps and they will receive a copy of their film at the end of the session! They can bring their own Lego characters or use the ones supplied by us.
More info at candoacademy.co.uk
Please note that these workshops are suitable for children aged 7+
Thank you to everyone who came down to our Blick Academy creative talk last night and thanks again to Paul Boal from @thatcleverghost for sharing his creative journey!
Introducing our new reformatted @womenfolk.co Junior.Senior. events. A series of leisurely bi-monthly Saturday morning brunch events for creative women in Belfast. Where over coffee, fruit and pastries within an intimate setting two local creative women will share the stories of their creative journeys. Each event will feature an established self-employed creative woman complimented by a young emerging creative starting out on their creative journey. Each speaker will tell the story of their creative journey so far and share honestly the challenges and opportunities they face. Giving different perspectives on the different stages of the creative journey.
These events are all about sharing knowledge and skills within the creative community so we can help each other grow. There will also be opportunities for meeting like-minded people, building community and creating new connections and helping champion young emerging designers by giving them the opportunity to share their story to a supportive and encouraging local audience.
Kick starting Saturday 15th June at 11.30am in our Hill Street Studios!
Event Date(s):Â June 15, 2024
Event Time:Â 11.30am
Location:Â Blick Shared Studios, Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LB
Another chance to see our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives
FUNDING, SUPPORT & OPPORTUNITIES
- ÂŁ575,000 Augment the City Challenge Fund - CIRCE Fellowship Programme 2024 - Beyond Literature Borders â International Work Grant - Call 2 of the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) is now open for expressions of interest - InvestNI new ÂŁ5 million programme has launched to support entrepreneurs and high growth start-ups in Northern Ireland. - InnovateUK Smart Grants: Up to ÂŁ1M - Catalyst Stryve Programme - Invent Awards - Creative Lunch Club - The National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme â Travel Awards â rolling programme - Digital Arts Studios XR Research & Development Lab - Craft NI Garden Show Ireland Craft Village Call Out - Women in Business and Techstart Female Founders Grant - The Content Fund - National Trust Time and Space Newton Competition - The SideQuest X Creature Indie VR Fund - Horizon Europe Pump Priming Programme - British Council International Collaboration Grants - Poetry with pride - Wheelworks Arts I Will Volunteering Programme - Venice gap-financing market call for projects
EXHIBITIONS
Ringside, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Sean McGibbon, celebrating Belfastâs boxing culture. Venue: Ormeau Baths Belfast Date: 18 Apr at 6pm
Lavery on Location Venue: Ulster Museum Dates: 23rd Feb -Â 9th Jun
EVENTS
Go Succeed business events
AI and the Future of Live Experience Date and time: 10 Apr, 3pm - 5pm Location: online
How to produce a kick ass application Date and time: 10 Apr, 11 am - 12:30 pm Location: Online
XR Network+ online seminar: Sound Design in Virtual Production Date and time: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:00 - 15:15 BST Location: Online Pop Up Gallery Belfast
Dates and times: Sat 20th and Sun 28th Apr, 11am to 3pm Location: Black Box Belfast
East Block Bazaar Date and time: Sun 28th April 1pm to 5pm Location: Banana Block
FESTIVALS
Foyle Film Festival 2024 â Reel Lives 10 to 27 Apr
Hit the north 20th - 30th April
The 24th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2 to 12 May
You can read the full listings including links on our blog
- After a couple of years break, we gave ourselves a deadline and finally got our act together and re-launched our Womenfolk project (www.womenfolk.co) for creative women on International Womenâs Day
- Including doing a call out for creative women business owners to feature on our Womenfolk platform (www.womenfolk.co)
- And inviting new members to join our ongoing Womenfolk Peer Mentoring group which meets on the last Tuesday of every month
- We welcomed new residents Horrible Brands to join our Cotton Court studios
- We completed an application for an exciting international project and connected with an international partner for another exciting project we hope to apply for this month
- We published the third exercise on creative and business values on our new resources for creatives section on our website https://blickstudios.org/resources/11802/
Looking back at what you have achieved in the past month is a great exercise in itself, to remind you that things are moving forwards and you are making progress even if it doesnât always feel like it!
Ahead of sharing his creative story with us at our next Blick Academy Creative Talk on Wednesday 17th April we thought it would be nice to ask Paul founder of @thatcleverghost some questions and get to know him a bit better. Here he shares a bit about his business, how it has grown, his plans for the future and what he would do differently if he was to do it all againâŚ
You can read the full interview on our blog on our website and also book tickets to his talk (link to both in profile)
Our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives
FUNDING, SUPPORT & OPPORTUNITIES
- ÂŁ575,000 Augment the City Challenge Fund - CIRCE Fellowship Programme 2024 - Beyond Literature Borders â International Work Grant - Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) is now open for expressions of interest - InvestNI new ÂŁ5 million programme - InnovateUK Smart Grants: Up to ÂŁ1M - Catalyst Stryve Programme - Invent Awards - Creative Lunch Club - The National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme â Travel Awards - Digital Arts Studios XR Research & Development Lab - Craft NI Garden Show Ireland Craft Village Call Out - Women in Business and Techstart Female Founders Grant - The Content Fund - National Trust Time and Space Newton Competition - The SideQuest X Creature Indie VR Fund - Horizon Europe Pump Priming Programme - British Council International Collaboration Grants - Poetry with pride - Wheelworks Arts I Will Volunteering Programme - Venice gap-financing market call for projects
EXHIBITIONS
Ringside, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Sean McGibbon Ormeau Baths Belfast 18 Apr at 6pm
Niamh McCann: âsomeone decides, hawk or dove The MAC 8 Dec - 7 Apr
Lavery on Location Ulster Museum 23rd Feb - 9th Jun
EVENTS
Blick Academy Creative Talk with Designer Paul Boal Wed 17th Apr, 7pm Blick Hill St
Go Succeed business events
Pollen studios market and workshop Pollen Studios 4th Apr 6-9pm
AI and the Future of Live Experience 10 Apr, 3pm - 5pm Online
How to produce a kick ass application 10 Apr, 11 am - 12:30 pm Online
Sound Design in Virtual Production Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:00 - 15:15 BST Online
Pop Up Gallery Belfast Sat 20th and Sun 28th Apr, 11am to 3pm Black Box Belfast
East Block Bazaar Sun 28th Apr Banana Block
FESTIVALS
Foyle Film Festival 2024 10 to 27 Apr
Hit the north 20th - 30th April
The 24th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2 to 12 May
Belfast 2024
You can read the full listings including links on our blog (link in profile)
Did you know that we also offer virtual office services for creatives?
Our virtual office services is an affordable business address service for creatives giving you access to a commercial business address, for a professional image and keeping your home address private.
Whether you are just starting out and canât yet afford workspace or are happy to work from home but seeking a professional public image for your business.
With our virtual office service you can use our City Centre Cathedral Quarter address 46 Hill Street, BT1 2LB for your creative business for only ÂŁ22.50 per month (paid quarterly) or ÂŁ200 per year.
We have a small team ensuring you get a friendly, personal and professional service and as a local social enterprise it means your money goes back into the local economy and to support the creative industries in Northern Ireland.
Have a look at our website for more info and to read our FAQs (link in profile) or email christine@blickstudios.org for more info
This month`s new exercise on our website for anyone starting a new creative business is all about working out your personal and business values to help you define and develop your creative idea.
I first did a similar exercise to this when setting up Blick on a NESTA creative enterprise course way back in 2007 and it has been invaluable in helping me to make decisions and plans since and is really worth spending time on when starting out.
You can download the exercise as a PDF or word document on the creative resources section of our website (link in bio)
Our next Blick Academy Creative Talk on Wed 17th April is by local designer and creative company founder Paul Boal!
Paul Boal is the Founder of Clever Ghost @âthatcleverghost a brand and design studio based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Founded in 2018 with a mission to influence positive change through clever design.
Paul and his team have created and managed brands across a diverse range of clients around the world from start-ups and SMEs to multinational companies.
His experience spans 14 years in the creative industry. To date, he has worked with clients including Cowen, the Irish Football Association, Queenâs University, Qualcom and evian in developing their brands and engaging with their audiences over numerous projects. Before founding Clever Ghost in 2018, Paul cut his teeth in various in-house design jobs. Eventually, he freelanced his way into several small design studios, overseeing the design team at a leading packaging company and working as a part-time lecturer in Creative Media.
Paul is one of our past creative residents at Blick and has done such an amazing job growing his business over the past few years, we are really excited to hear his story on how he started and has grown his creative business and his plans for the future.
You can find out more about Paul on his website:Â https://cleverghost.studio/Â and instagram:Â @âthatcleverghost
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Wednesday 17th April
Time: 7 - 8pm
Location: Blick Hill Street
Cost: Free
For more info and to book your ticket, visit the events page of our website (link in bio)