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    • Great Northern St Residents South Belfast Residents
    • Hill Street Residents Cathedral Quarter Residents
    • Cotton Court Residents Cathedral Quarter Residents
    • Testimonials Hear what past and present think of Blick Shared Studios
  • Events & Support
    • Events & Workshops Find out more about our upcoming events
    • Design Hothouse Residency Find out about our new design residency
    • Resources for Creatives Useful resources for helping you grow your creative business
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    • Belfast Design Week Celebrating Design in Belfast
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The Time is Now // 4 Week Course


We are excited to announce our first ‘The Time is Now’ 4 week course in collaboration with Womenfolk, Blick Studios & Creating A Space.

OVERVIEW

This course will help you to create space in your life to work out what you want to do. To take the time to establish your values, vision and goals. To work out what is holding you back and help you find the confidence to make small tangible steps to achieve your creative dreams and ambitions no matter how big.

In Northern Ireland, there is a mentality that seemingly is ingrained in our culture of making ourselves small. Especially for women in the creative industries. There aren’t many spaces made for us to flourish and grow in a way that fits our needs. Enterprise support is generally based around high growth businesses rather than value led businesses that fit our personal goals and ambitions. Perhaps you want to run a lifestyle business and be able to work anywhere in the world, maybe you need to balance business with family life, maybe you only need a part-time income, perhaps you want to pursue your passion or maybe you want to grow a sustainable value-led business that creates good quality employment opportunities within your local town or city. There are many reasons people want to work for themselves and start their own business. This course will give you space and time to help you to define your personal values and vision and goals for the future and a plan for how to get there.

We are on a life-long mission to change that here in Northern Ireland where we want to break down barriers for women and creatively find solutions to make a difference within ourselves.

This course will provide a ‘space’ for women that are yearning to create deeper connections with themselves, to come together in a supportive environment and take the time to understand what they really want to do and the first steps to take to make this happen.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

This course is for creative women that want to take their dreams/ideas/concepts/current business/ideas to the next level. It is a creative approach to taking control and accountability for your life and going for what you want to do.

This course is about sharing experiences, hearing other people’s stories and collectively working to help each other to grow and build in a supportive and nurturing environment. This course offers a different perspective and most importantly space and time for you to focus on yourself your hopes and ambitions and how to manifest your dreams taking a creative approach and giving you practical tools to break down what you want to accomplish and how to start making it a reality.

WHY ARE WE OFFERING THIS COURSE?

We are providing this course because we feel that it is important to create space in your life to sit down and plan out what you want to do. To take the time to evaluate what is holding you back from manifesting the dreams & ambitions that you have always wanted. We also know from our own experiences how hard it is to take the time out of busy lives to work on yourself and also how hard it is to work in isolation. This course will provide you with some much needed time and space to focus on yourself within a supportive shared environment of like-minded creative women.

We will provide :

  • A welcoming space and supportive environment
  • Refreshments
  • Workshop tools including: – Post It Notes, Paper, Pens & Notebooks, an organizational guide of resources and Womenfolk Manifestation Worksheets

WEEK 1 : VALUES & AMBITION

DATE: Saturday 12th October

TIME: 2.00 PM – 5.00 PM

VENUE: Blick Studios, 51 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RY

Week 1 will be an introduction to the group, the 4 week course and highlighting our personal stories. We will be asking everyone what they hope to get out of the course, and tailor the 4 weeks to their desired outcomes.

We will be introducing ourselves, Esther Mogada from Creating A Space & Christine James from Blick Studios who will be leading the course. We will share our stories and journeys within the creative industries. Discuss why we wanted to create this course, why we think it’s important and what our intentions are going forward. We will ask the group to share their stories, why they wanted to do the course and what they hope to get out of it.

We will then move on to working collectively on establishing our personal values and ambitions.

Probably the most important part of this course as your personal values will dictate how you choose to live your life and your creative and business plans and ambitions. We will do this by asking questions like “What is your dream lifestyle? “, “What do you enjoy?”, “What are you good at?”, “What is your definition of success?”, “What is important to you in life?” “what are your values?” and “what is your overall dream?” to get you to really think about your own personal values and ambitions.

This is so important yet it can be so hard to create space and time in our busy lives to do and can be tough to do alone. So often we just keep going in the same direction, doing the same thing as we don’t have time to think about it or work out what we really want to do and how to get there.

WEEK 2 : VISION – DEFINING AMBITIONS & INTENTIONS

DATE: Saturday 19th October

TIME: 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm

VENUE: Blick Studios, 51 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RY

Week 2 we will be working on defining our ambitions, establishing our vision for the future and begin breaking down our big dream ambitions into realistic short, medium and long-term tangible goals and intentions. We will ask everyone to write everything down on post it notes, and to really get used to planning out projects and writing down goals and intentions.

We will talk about the romanticism of time and creativity, versus the reality of what that looks like. We will also cover how important it is to fail and experiment, and to learn how to normalise failure to incorporate it into your practices. To take away the stigma of failure and see it as a positive tool to learning and growth.

WEEK 3 : CLAIMING YOUR STORY 

DATE: Saturday 26th October

TIME: 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm

VENUE: Blick Studios, 51 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RY

Week 3 we will be asking questions about what is holding you back, questioning what narratives are holding you back and how you can make steps to really claim who you are.

So often we hold ourselves back out of fear, or narratives that we tell ourselves without even realising that we are doing it. It will be a week of writing positive affirmations about ourselves.

Asking questions of what narrative we want to create, how do we put it in place and understand the person that we want to be.

We will be touching on how important it is to have people around you that believe in what you are doing, create a positive impact in your life and are able to celebrate you for standing in your truth. We will work on who these people are for you.

WEEK 4 : DREAM BIG & START

DATE: Saturday 12 October

TIME: 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm

VENUE: Blick Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB

Week 4 the final week we will recap everyone’s outcomes of what they have learnt, revisit everyone’s values from week 1 and the vision, goals and intentions that they set on Week 2.

We will talk about themes of perfectionism, and how we can keep the systems and processes simple and just make a start.

We will have limited numbers for the first run of this course! If this course sounds like its for you, book your space today!

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Fingers crossed it will stay dry for @culturenightbelfast this Friday! but just in case the weather is not kind to us our Design Hothouse Residents have been busy designing and making their own shelter for their exhibition as part of the Community Plant Library using sustainable materials!

This will protect their interactive exhibition about plants, design and Belfast which also includes the cutest origami plant pots they have designed that you can pop along and make and take home with you on the night!

About the exhibition:

During the Design Hot House residency our residents @bethschmidt and @rachelcowie_graphics worked collaboratively, exploring how plants are incorporated into Belfast, this included exploring what grows in Belfast, the city’s decorative features in buildings and their part in history and the benefits growing plants has on us and our surroundings. This led them down a few routes of experimentation through cyanotype, collage and creating shapes inspired by features across the city’s buildings and homes which were also melded into the branding of this year’s Design After Dark.

Pop along to Bankmore Square on Friday from 4pm to see their work, learn a bit about plants, design and Belfast and get yourself a mini origami plant pot to take home with you!

Sep 16

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18278656540291006
Fingers crossed it will stay dry for @culturenightbelfast this Friday! but just in case the weather is not kind to us our Design Hothouse Residents have been busy designing and making their own shelter for their exhibition as part of the Community Plant Library using sustainable materials! 

This will protect their interactive exhibition about plants, design and Belfast which also includes the cutest origami plant pots they have designed that you can pop along and make and take home with you on the night! 

About the exhibition: 

During the Design Hot House residency our residents @bethschmidt and @rachelcowie_graphics worked collaboratively, exploring how plants are incorporated into Belfast, this included exploring what grows in Belfast, the city’s decorative features in buildings and their part in history and the benefits growing plants has on us and our surroundings. This led them down a few routes of experimentation through cyanotype, collage and creating shapes inspired by features across the city’s buildings and homes which were also melded into the branding of this year’s Design After Dark. 

Pop along to Bankmore Square on Friday from 4pm to see their work, learn a bit about plants, design and Belfast and get yourself a mini origami plant pot to take home with you!

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - @rachelcowie_graphics Multidisciplinary Designer and Design Hothouse Resident.

As part of our Design Hothouse Residency Rachel along with @beth__schmidt created the beautiful artwork for the Community Plant Library, they have also been working hard to create an exhibition for the Community Plant Library event, in Bankmore Square on Culture Night (this Friday from 4pm)

Come along to see their beautiful and enlightening exhibition about plants and Belfast and plants and design.

Here you can read a bit about Rachel and her genuine passion and enthusiasm for plants

Sep 16

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18206588992369444
Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - @rachelcowie_graphics Multidisciplinary Designer and Design Hothouse Resident. 

As part of our Design Hothouse Residency Rachel along with @beth__schmidt created the beautiful artwork for the Community Plant Library, they have also been working hard to create an exhibition for the Community Plant Library event, in Bankmore Square on Culture Night (this Friday from 4pm)

Come along to see their beautiful and enlightening exhibition about plants and Belfast and plants and design.

Here you can read a bit about Rachel and her genuine passion and enthusiasm for plants

One of my favourite elements of our Community Plant Library project. This beautiful Belfast Plant Map which has been thoughtfully illustrated by Blick resident and talented local illustrator @thomasbannondraws

The Belfast Plant Map shows some of the plants and trees we found (often in unexpected places) growing naturally throughout the city centre. It tells some of the stories of these plants and highlights some of their benefits.

The map also shows some of the places in Belfast City Centre (with varying amounts of plants and nature) where you can pause, sit and enjoy a moment of nature and the benefits it brings to your wellbeing.

Most of these places don`t have as many plants as they could have. Whilst in many ways overall Belfast is a pretty green city with around 2,390 hectares of open space across the city the city centre isn`t as green with some inner-city areas having just 1–7% tree cover, while some outer areas have as much as 43–49%. So, while Belfast is already green in places, there’s a real opportunity to bring more trees, plants and green space into the inner city areas and communities that arguably need them most.�

Call in to see us at Bankmore Square on Culture Night from 4pm to pick up your free Belfast Plant Map

Sep 16

Open post by blickstudios with ID 17961034704238544
One of my favourite elements of our Community Plant Library project. This beautiful Belfast Plant Map which has been thoughtfully illustrated by Blick resident and talented local illustrator @thomasbannondraws

The Belfast Plant Map shows some of the plants and trees we found (often in unexpected places) growing naturally throughout the city centre. It tells some of the stories of these plants and highlights some of their benefits.

The map also shows some of the places in Belfast City Centre (with varying amounts of plants and nature) where you can pause, sit and enjoy a moment of nature and the benefits it brings to your wellbeing. 

Most of these places don't have as many plants as they could have. Whilst in many ways overall Belfast is a pretty green city with around 2,390 hectares of open space across the city the city centre isn't as green with some inner-city areas having just 1–7% tree cover, while some outer areas have as much as 43–49%. So, while Belfast is already green in places, there’s a real opportunity to bring more trees, plants and green space into the inner city areas and communities that arguably need them most.� 

Call in to see us at Bankmore Square on Culture Night from 4pm to pick up your free Belfast Plant Map

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - David Keys Woodworker

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Today hearing from @d.keyssustainablewoodworking woodworker and creator of the interactive plant installation that will feature in Friday`s Community Plant Library event at Culture Night. The installation has been thoughtfully designed as a living evolving space, using sustainable materials so passersby can interact with the installation adding and taking away plants throughout the event

Sep 14

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18100013258629136
Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - David Keys Woodworker

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Today hearing from @d.keyssustainablewoodworking woodworker and creator of the interactive plant installation that will feature in Friday's Community Plant Library event at Culture Night. The installation has been thoughtfully designed as a living evolving space, using sustainable materials so passersby can interact with the installation adding and taking away plants throughout the event

COMMUNITY PLANT LIBRARY PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert @jillydougan is happening this Friday at Bankmore Square as part of our Community Plant Library event.

Jilly will be sharing her knowledge on edible plants, engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on growing and caring for edible plants.

Come along to Bankmore Square on Friday to get some free samples and learn more about plants 🪴 🌱 🌿 🌾 🌵

Sep 14

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18281120473288450
COMMUNITY PLANT LIBRARY PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert @jillydougan is happening this Friday at Bankmore Square as part of our Community Plant Library event. 

Jilly will be sharing her knowledge on edible plants, engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on growing and caring for edible plants.

Come along to Bankmore Square on Friday to get some free samples and learn more about plants 🪴 🌱 🌿 🌾 🌵

Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - Gardener @jillydougan

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Starting with gardener @jillydougan who will be hosting a plant clinic for us as part of our event at Culture Night this Friday evening at Bankmore Square

Sep 13

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18488181982096350
Belfast Community Plant Library Team Plant Stories - Gardener @jillydougan

Here we get to meet some of the team behind the project and find out about their love of plants and why they wanted to get involved. Starting with gardener @jillydougan who will be hosting a plant clinic for us as part of our event at Culture Night this Friday evening at Bankmore Square

The Belfast Community Plant Library is a collaborative initiative that connects people, place, plants and creativity.

The Belfast Community Plant Library will pop up at Bankmore Square during Culture Night Belfast 2026 (Friday 18th September, 4pm onwards) and will feature an interactive design installation, workshops and of course, the plant library!

There will also be lots of plant freebies, including Belfast Plant Map, a special zine giveaway, seeds and plants as well as the following activities.

INTERACTIVE PLANT FURNITURE INSTALLTION

At the heart of the project will be an interactive design installation. Designed as a living, evolving space, the installation will invite participation from the public.

The structure will be sustainably manufactured by David Keys Woodworker using environmentally responsible materials.�

PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert Jilly Dougan engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on plants and growing and caring for edible plants.

CO-DESIGN WORKSHOP

A community co-design workshop led by One Bite Design Studio will bring together event attendees to collectively shape and build the installation. Participants will be encouraged to contribute plants alongside stories and memories that reflect Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place.

So… come along to learn more about plants, growing and to take, share and swap plants.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Friday 18th September
Time: from 4pm
Venue: Bankmore Square

Everyone is welcome and no advance booking is required.

Sep 13

Open post by blickstudios with ID 17888972244613366
The Belfast Community Plant Library is a collaborative initiative that connects people, place, plants and creativity.

The Belfast Community Plant Library will pop up at Bankmore Square during Culture Night Belfast 2026 (Friday 18th September, 4pm onwards) and will feature an interactive design installation, workshops and of course, the plant library!

There will also be lots of plant freebies, including Belfast Plant Map, a special zine giveaway, seeds and plants as well as the following activities.

INTERACTIVE PLANT FURNITURE INSTALLTION

At the heart of the project will be an interactive design installation. Designed as a living, evolving space, the installation will invite participation from the public.

The structure will be sustainably manufactured by David Keys Woodworker using environmentally responsible materials.�

PLANT CLINIC

A special Culture Night drop-in plant clinic with local plant expert Jilly Dougan engaging with the public and answering people’s questions on plants and growing and caring for edible plants.

CO-DESIGN WORKSHOP

A community co-design workshop led by One Bite Design Studio will bring together event attendees to collectively shape and build the installation. Participants will be encouraged to contribute plants alongside stories and memories that reflect Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place.

So… come along to learn more about plants, growing and to take, share and swap plants.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Friday 18th September
Time: from 4pm
Venue: Bankmore Square

Everyone is welcome and no advance booking is required.

Belfast Plant Stories - Biggest or Silliest Plant Care Mistakes

Ahead of our Community Plant Library event at Culture Night next Friday we asked the people of Belfast for their biggest or silliest plant care mistakes...

You can find details of the event on our website

Sep 13

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18078284870371429
Belfast Plant Stories - Biggest or Silliest Plant Care Mistakes

Ahead of our Community Plant Library event at Culture Night next Friday we asked the people of Belfast for their biggest or silliest plant care mistakes...

You can find details of the event on our website

Belfast Plant Stories - What’s your earliest plant memory?

We asked the people of Belfast what their earliest plant memories are.

Sep 11

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18106539812233421
Belfast Plant Stories - What’s your earliest plant memory?

We asked the people of Belfast what their earliest plant memories are.

Belfast Plant Stories - How Taking Care of Plants Makes You Feel

We asked the people of Belfast how taking care of a living green thing changes their mood and makes them feel

Sep 11

Open post by blickstudios with ID 17972645400133230
Belfast Plant Stories - How Taking Care of Plants Makes You Feel

We asked the people of Belfast how taking care of a living green thing changes their mood and makes them feel

How the idea for Belfast Community Plant Library came about after @karishmasworld and I (Christine) visited Hong Kong in 2024 to create a @belfastdesignwk design installation for the British Council Spark Festival.

When we were in Hong Kong we got a last minute invite to visit Alan Cheung in the beautiful @onebite.design studio and saw their Community Plant Library outside and instantly loved the idea of bringing something similar to Belfast.

As a follow on to our recent Grow Your Own Way project that was all about bringing designers and growers together to explore the potential of supporting residents in Belfast’s Botanic and Holylands areas to grow their own food within the city to improve their health and wellbeing.

We also thought the Plant Library was a great accessible, welcoming intervention that used plants to create new opportunities for interaction and improving wellbeing in the city and thought it would translate very well to Belfast.

We kept in touch and in 2025 Alan and his business partner Sarah Mui visited Belfast then later that year we worked together on our Islands of Design project for Irish Design Week, before finally in 2026 we have found the opportunity thanks to support from Belfast City Council to bring the project to Belfast at our next Design After Dark event during Culture Night on Friday 18th September where we will be at Bankmore Square from 4 - 10pm with lots of plant and design related activities including:

- See and interact with our plant library, bringing and taking away plants

- Share your plant stories and wishes and ideas for a greener Belfast

- Learn about how to care for and grow your own edible plants with our plant expert Jilly Dougan

- Learn how to make your own mini planters with Green: Remake

- Pick up a Belfast Plant Map and Zine, as well as some seeds and planting materials

And much more

This is a free drop-in event, just pop by and say hello!

Sep 9

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18077022308427145
How the idea for Belfast Community Plant Library came about after @karishmasworld and I (Christine) visited Hong Kong in 2024 to create a @belfastdesignwk design installation for the British Council Spark Festival. 

When we were in Hong Kong we got a last minute invite to visit Alan Cheung in the beautiful @onebite.design studio and saw their Community Plant Library outside and instantly loved the idea of bringing something similar to Belfast.

As a follow on to our recent Grow Your Own Way project that was all about bringing designers and growers together to explore the potential of supporting residents in Belfast’s Botanic and Holylands areas to grow their own food within the city to improve their health and wellbeing. 

We also thought the Plant Library was a great accessible, welcoming intervention that used plants to create new opportunities for interaction and improving wellbeing in the city and thought it would translate very well to Belfast.

We kept in touch and in 2025 Alan and his business partner Sarah Mui visited Belfast then later that year we worked together on our Islands of Design project for Irish Design Week, before finally in 2026 we have found the opportunity thanks to support from Belfast City Council to bring the project to Belfast at our next Design After Dark event during Culture Night on Friday 18th September where we will be at Bankmore Square from 4 - 10pm with lots of plant and design related activities including:

- See and interact with our plant library, bringing and taking away plants

- Share your plant stories and wishes and ideas for a greener Belfast

- Learn about how to care for and grow your own edible plants with our plant expert Jilly Dougan

- Learn how to make your own mini planters with Green: Remake

- Pick up a Belfast Plant Map and Zine, as well as some seeds and planting materials

And much more

This is a free drop-in event, just pop by and say hello!

Community Plant Library - Belfast Plant Stories

Exploring Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place through the plant stories of the local community. Plants in some shape or form are an important part of life for most people. Forming some of our earliest memories, helping the environment and positively impacting our health and wellbeing.

As part of the Community Plant Library project we have collected personal plant stories from people across Belfast to explore the different ways plants connect with our lives. On the run up to the event on Culture Night we will be sharing out some of these stories. Starting today by sharing the stories of some of the people from Belfast and why they love plants!

If you love plants let us know why?

Sep 7

Open post by blickstudios with ID 17991855099043755
Community Plant Library - Belfast Plant Stories

Exploring Belfast’s relationship with plant life and place through the plant stories of the local community. Plants in some shape or form are an important part of life for most people. Forming some of our earliest memories, helping the environment and positively impacting our health and wellbeing. 

As part of the Community Plant Library project we have collected personal plant stories from people across Belfast to explore the different ways plants connect with our lives. On the run up to the event on Culture Night we will be sharing out some of these stories. Starting today by sharing the stories of some of the people from Belfast and why they love plants!

If you love plants let us know why?

Design After Dark is an evening celebration of contemporary design in Belfast, delivered as part of @belfastdesignwk and Blick Shared Studios. The programme brings together workshops, talks, installations, studio tours, and exhibitions, offering something for everyone to explore and enjoy.

For our first Design After Dark series, we have curated a series of projects including Design Stories, Design Hothouse Residency, the Belfast Community Plant Library & Food Loves Design.

Join us at @culturenightbelfast on Friday 18th September for our interactive Community Plant Library event at Bankmore Square. More details coming soon!

Event artwork created by our very talented Design Hothouse Residents @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth_schmidt who will share details on the process behind their beautiful artwork in coming weeks.

Design After Dark is kindly sponsored by Belfast City Council

Sep 2

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18493212982097010
Design After Dark is an evening celebration of contemporary design in Belfast, delivered as part of @belfastdesignwk and Blick Shared Studios. The programme brings together workshops, talks, installations, studio tours, and exhibitions, offering something for everyone to explore and enjoy.

For our first Design After Dark series, we have curated a series of projects including Design Stories, Design Hothouse Residency, the Belfast Community Plant Library & Food Loves Design.

Join us at @culturenightbelfast on Friday 18th September for our interactive Community Plant Library event at Bankmore Square. More details coming soon!

Event artwork created by our very talented Design Hothouse Residents @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth_schmidt who will share details on the process behind their beautiful artwork in coming weeks.

Design After Dark is kindly sponsored by Belfast City Council

Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives.

01. Business Innovation Grant

BIG helps support sole traders, micro-businesses and SMEs in Northern Ireland to develop and bring their innovation activities to market with a grant of up to £20,000.

Closing date: 4th September, 12 noon

 

02.Wear Her Story

Applications are now open for Wear Her Story, a free cross-border creative programme from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and Glow NI that will help young women aged 16 to 25 explore fashion, heritage, wellbeing and emerging digital technologies.

Closing date: 11th September

 

03. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Offering Visual Artist Residency Opportunity

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is offering a new residency, based at Down Arts Centre in Downpatrick from September 26 to April 27, 2026.

The opportunity is open to a visual artist to provide dedicated time and space to develop their creative practice while engaging with audiences and communities across the district.

Closing date: 9th September

 

04. National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme

You can apply for an award of between £500 and £10,000 for a project, which can last up to one year and can take place on any dates between 1 December 2026 and 30 November 2027.

Deadline: 24th September, 12noon

 

05. InvestNI Leadership and Capability

Develop your strategic leadership capability in order to take your business to new heights.

 

06. Creative Spark Residency Programme 2027

Creative Spark is pleased to offer three Artist-in-Residence opportunities designed to support artistic development, creative exchange, and engagement with our facilities and local community.

07. Creative Belfast Internship

The Belfast Buildings Trust, in partnership with leading cultural organisations, proudly presents the Creative Belfast Internship Programme- the second instalment of a six-month paid internship designed for young people aged 18-25 to gain meaningful experience within Belfast’s vibrant creative and cultural industries.

Deadline: 11th September 5pm

Full listings including links on our website blog

https://blickstudios.org/blog/

Sep 1

Open post by blickstudios with ID 18105739397264752
Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives.

01. Business Innovation Grant

BIG helps support sole traders, micro-businesses and SMEs in Northern Ireland to develop and bring their innovation activities to market with a grant of up to £20,000.

Closing date: 4th September, 12 noon

 

02.Wear Her Story

Applications are now open for Wear Her Story, a free cross-border creative programme from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and Glow NI that will help young women aged 16 to 25 explore fashion, heritage, wellbeing and emerging digital technologies.

Closing date: 11th September

 

03. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Offering Visual Artist Residency Opportunity

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is offering a new residency, based at Down Arts Centre in Downpatrick from September 26 to April 27, 2026.

The opportunity is open to a visual artist to provide dedicated time and space to develop their creative practice while engaging with audiences and communities across the district.

Closing date: 9th September

 

04. National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme

You can apply for an award of between £500 and £10,000 for a project, which can last up to one year and can take place on any dates between 1 December 2026 and 30 November 2027.

Deadline: 24th September, 12noon

 

05. InvestNI Leadership and Capability

Develop your strategic leadership capability in order to take your business to new heights.

 

06. Creative Spark Residency Programme 2027

Creative Spark is pleased to offer three Artist-in-Residence opportunities designed to support artistic development, creative exchange, and engagement with our facilities and local community. 

07. Creative Belfast Internship 

The Belfast Buildings Trust, in partnership with leading cultural organisations, proudly presents the Creative Belfast Internship Programme- the second instalment of a six-month paid internship designed for young people aged 18-25 to gain meaningful experience within Belfast’s vibrant creative and cultural industries.

Deadline: 11th September 5pm

Full listings including links on our website blog 

https://blickstudios.org/blog/

The sixth week of our @belfastdesignwk collab  Design Hothouse Residency with @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt, this week working on finalising details with Blick resident Alex Synge @thefirst47 for the Design After Dark and Community Plant Library artwork to be ready to launch online in time for @culturenightbelfast on Friday 18th September. Then starting to think about how to exhibit the artwork for Culture Night.

We are excited to officially launch both projects and share Rachel and Beths beautiful artwork online later this week!

Aug 31

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The sixth week of our @belfastdesignwk collab  Design Hothouse Residency with @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt, this week working on finalising details with Blick resident Alex Synge @thefirst47 for the Design After Dark and Community Plant Library artwork to be ready to launch online in time for @culturenightbelfast on Friday 18th September. Then starting to think about how to exhibit the artwork for Culture Night.

We are excited to officially launch both projects and share Rachel and Beths beautiful artwork online later this week!

September is coming, the season of change. We have dedicated deskspaces available in our beautiful Hill St studios for creatives looking for a productive working space in the centre of Belfast`s Cathedral Quarter.
– £165 per calendar month
– All inclusive prices (rent, rates, utilities, broadband) no VAT
– Minimum 3 months contract then on a rolling monthly contract
– 1 months rent required as a deposit
– Cathedral Quarter location
Email christine@blickstudios.org for more info or to arrange a viewing or visit our website for more info: https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/

Aug 26

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September is coming, the season of change. We  have dedicated deskspaces available in our beautiful Hill St studios for creatives looking for a productive working space in the centre of Belfast's Cathedral Quarter.
– £165 per calendar month
– All inclusive prices (rent, rates, utilities, broadband) no VAT
– Minimum 3 months contract then on a rolling monthly contract
– 1 months rent required as a deposit
– Cathedral Quarter location 
Email christine@blickstudios.org for more info or to arrange a viewing or visit our website for more info: https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/

Week 5 of our new Design Hothouse Residency with Rachel and Beth, this week working on refinement and layout, the micro-adjustments that elevate the artwork from amateur to professional with @belfastdesignwk co-founder @karishmasworld on Tuesday at Queen’s University Students Union and starting to think about creating supporting assets and Checking layouts, colour ways and formatting with Blick Resident Molly Long to finish the week on Friday.

Aug 24

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Week 5 of our new Design Hothouse Residency with Rachel and Beth, this week working on refinement and layout, the micro-adjustments that elevate the artwork from amateur to professional with @belfastdesignwk co-founder @karishmasworld on Tuesday at Queen’s University Students Union and starting to think about creating supporting assets and Checking layouts, colour ways and formatting with Blick Resident Molly Long to finish the week on Friday.

As the seasons change and we move onto new projects here is a summary of some of my favourite bits from Belfast Design Week 2026, I also wrote a blog about it which is on our website (link in profile and below)

https://blickstudios.org/blog/bdw26-my-best-bits/

Aug 21

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As the seasons change and we move onto new projects here is a summary of some of my favourite bits from Belfast Design Week 2026, I also wrote a blog about it which is on our website (link in profile and below)

https://blickstudios.org/blog/bdw26-my-best-bits/

- - Meet The New Design Hothouse Resident: Beth Schmidt - -

In our latest Meet The Resident we get to know the second of our new Design Hothouse residents @beth__schmidt who is currently working as an architectural assistant @studioidir in East Belfast

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your creative work?

I work as an architectural assistant at Studio idir in East Belfast, where I contribute to a range of residential and placemaking projects. My work is driven by a passion for community-led design and an interest in re-evaluating food and waste systems, which was a continuous theme throughout my academic work. After graduating from Queen’s University Belfast in 2024, I spent time volunteering for various community-led projects across Europe, engaging in hands-on construction, food preparation, and permaculture farming. This allowed me to create meaningful change on an everyday scale, which I think can be difficult within architectural practice.

Can you tell us why you wanted to take part in the residency

I’m interested in the potential of design in reshaping our cities, which the residency encourages us to explore. The collaborative nature of the project was also important to me – I come from a background of architecture, which is often a very individualistic discipline. Buildings have historically been portrayed as the work and genius of one person, rather than reflecting the vast range of people involved in design and construction processes. I think collaboration enriches design and creates better results, and so I was interested in the opportunity to work with designers from other disciplines throughout the residency.

What would you like to achieve from this residency?

I’d like to explore design within circular economy principles, and create a body of work that is genuinely sustainable and has a positive contribution to the public. I’m also eager to gain experience and insight more generally in delivering the various events, branding, and physical exhibition that the residency links into. Lastly, I’d also like to become more confident in my ability to work within these areas going forward

Aug 19

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- - Meet The New Design Hothouse Resident: Beth Schmidt - -

In our latest Meet The Resident we get to know the second of our new Design Hothouse residents @beth__schmidt who is currently working as an architectural assistant @studioidir in East Belfast 

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your creative work?

I work as an architectural assistant at Studio idir in East Belfast, where I contribute to a range of residential and placemaking projects. My work is driven by a passion for community-led design and an interest in re-evaluating food and waste systems, which was a continuous theme throughout my academic work. After graduating from Queen’s University Belfast in 2024, I spent time volunteering for various community-led projects across Europe, engaging in hands-on construction, food preparation, and permaculture farming. This allowed me to create meaningful change on an everyday scale, which I think can be difficult within architectural practice. 

Can you tell us why you wanted to take part in the residency

I’m interested in the potential of design in reshaping our cities, which the residency encourages us to explore. The collaborative nature of the project was also important to me – I come from a background of architecture, which is often a very individualistic discipline. Buildings have historically been portrayed as the work and genius of one person, rather than reflecting the vast range of people involved in design and construction processes. I think collaboration enriches design and creates better results, and so I was interested in the opportunity to work with designers from other disciplines throughout the residency.

What would you like to achieve from this residency?

I’d like to explore design within circular economy principles, and create a body of work that is genuinely sustainable and has a positive contribution to the public. I’m also eager to gain experience and insight more generally in delivering the various events, branding, and physical exhibition that the residency links into. Lastly, I’d also like to become more confident in my ability to work within these areas going forward

The fourth week of our Design Hothouse Residency with @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt , this week working on reviewing sketches and ideas for custom fonts, layouts, colours and pairing fonts with Blick resident Alex Synge @thefirst47 on Tuesday 11th August. Then a finance and budgeting workshop and second opinion on fonts and artwork direction with Blick Finance and Operations Manager Rosy on Friday.

Aug 18

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The fourth week of our Design Hothouse Residency with @rachelcowie_graphics and @beth__schmidt , this week working on reviewing sketches and ideas for custom fonts, layouts, colours and pairing fonts with Blick resident Alex Synge @thefirst47 on Tuesday 11th August. Then a finance and budgeting workshop and second opinion on fonts and artwork direction with Blick Finance and Operations Manager Rosy on Friday.
Our locations:

Blick Shared Studios, Hill Street

46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB
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Blick Shared Studios, Cotton Court

30-42 Waring Street, Belfast, BT1 2ED
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Blick Shared Studios, Great Northern St

65 Great Northern Street, Belfast, BT9 7FL
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02890137395 info@blickstudios.org
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