Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives

01 . Blick X Belfast Design Week Design Hothouse Residency

Design Hothouse is a new Blick Shared Studios X Belfast Design Week collaborative residency, that will support two emerging designers from different disciplines as they work together over a 2-month period from 17th July – 18th September on a live brief. £800 bursary available for each designer.
Closing date: Friday 3rd July

02. GoSEA Artists-in-Residence programme Vietnam
GoSEA welcomes UK-based artists and creative practitioners from all disciplines – from music, film, and visual arts to craft, creative research and production, and even puppet theatre!

Closing date: Monday 15th June

03. ImmerseHER
A cross‑border immersive arts adventure exploring Irish cultural heritage, identity, co‑creative storytelling, and digital futures for young women aged 16 – 25. 

Closing date: 30th June

04. The Radcliffe Trust 

The Radcliffe Trust supports the development and practice of the skills, knowledge and experience that underpin the UK’s heritage and crafts sector. This includes support for emerging craftspeople of high quality, craft and conservation projects and training, projects demonstrating creative outcomes by designer-makers, projects with potential for capacity building within the sector, and some special needs projects focusing on the therapeutic benefits of skills development.

Closing date: Friday 31st July

05. Culture Night Application
Just like last year, Culture Night Belfast 2026 will be an artist-led and venue based city-wide experience.

Deadline: Friday 19th June

06. Creative Lives Micro Grant

Has your creative group found a useful software package, app, or system that helps you run things more efficiently?
Deadline: Monday 6th April

07. Digital Arts Studios – Home Residency
The DAS Home Residency provides four months for you to develop a project of your choice.

Closing date: 8th July

08. Dormant Assets for All
The Dormant Assets for All fund is for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations
You can apply for between £300 and £20,000.

See the full listings including links on our website blog

We are very excited to launch a new design residency in collaboration with @belfastdesignwk this summer!

Design Hothouse is a new Blick Shared Studios X Belfast Design Week collaborative residency, that will support two emerging designers from different disciplines as they work together over a 2-month period from 17th July – 18th September on a live brief.

The Brief

The brief will be to work together to co-design and co-create a body of digital and printed work to promote Design After Dark, a new Blick X Belfast Design Weekinitiative that will bring a series of seasonal evening celebrations of contemporary design in Belfast.

The Details

The residency will take place in Blick Shared Studios, Hill Street Studios from 17th July – 18th September. The selected applicants will have access to workspace to work on the project, weekly workshops, mentoring and professional development support from established creatives. They will each receive a bursary of £800 that they can use for their time, materials and expenses.

Selected participants will be required to attend each of the weekly workshops (time to be agreed based on participants and facilitators availability) and provide weekly reports on project progress. They will be responsible for working together collaboratively to create the digital artwork to promote Design After Dark, Belfast Community Plant Library and Food Loves Design. In addition they will get the opportunity to exhibit printed versions of their work and talk about their experience on the residency during Design After Dark.

Applicants can be emerging creatives (working in industry for less than 2 years), students or graduates or self-taught designers looking to build their skills, experience and connections.

Closing date for applications: Friday 3rd July 5pm

This residency is kindly supported by Belfast City Council

Get in touch if you have any questions or visit the Design Hothouse page on our website for more info ( link below and in profile)

https://blickstudios.org/design-hothouse-residency/

- - PRIVATE STUDIO AVAILABLE SOUTH BELFAST - -

We have a small 1 - 2 person private studio available in our South Belfast Studios

– South Belfast location close to the Lisburn Road with lots of shops, coffee shops and bars within walking distance

– £325 per calendar month all inclusive (rent, rates, utilities, broadband) no VAT

– 24 hour access

– Breakout area

– Minimum 3 months contract then on a rolling monthly contract

– 1 months rent required as a deposit

– Email christine@blickstudios.org for more info or to arrange a viewing or visit the Great Northern Street Studios page on our website link below and in profile

https://blickstudios.org/locations/great-northern-street/

- - OUR HILL STREET STUDIOS - -

We thought it would be nice to  share a bit of info on our 3 different studios over the next few weeks for any new followers. Starting today with our beautiful Hill St studios. Hill St is a lovely cobbled street right in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter there are lots of arts and cultural organisations as well as bars and coffee shops and of course the art college nearby.

�Hill Street is the biggest of our two Cathedral Quarter Studios in Belfast city centre. They are based in an historic loft building, complete with original beams and pulley system. �It has high ceilings a lovely wooden floor and lots of light and plants of course.

��Hill Street was first depicted on a Belfast map in 1757 that was originally named Pott-House Lane. The narrow and cobbled street runs between Talbot Street and Waring Street and still has the orginal cobbles making it a lovely street to work on.

Our Hill St studios can also be used as a virtual office for creatives who want a professional city centre address for their business.

����You can find more information on our Hill St studios and available workspace on our  website: https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/

Rosy  and I had a lovely evening on Friday at Blick Resident Francesca Biondi @gallery545online exhibition opening at the beautiful La Roche House, you can still view the exhibition this week. I highly recommend popping in if you can, to see some really beautiful work by local artists in a stunning setting.

See exhibition details below

Gallery 545 Group Exhibition: Contemporary Art of Northern Ireland
🗓29 May – 6 June 2026
📍 La Roche House, 5A Windsor Avenue North, Belfast BT9 6EL

You are welcome to visit the exhibition this week, any day between 12noon-6pm (closing earlier on Sat 6 June at 4pm.

Discover atmospheric landscapes, nature-inspired paintings, vibrant abstracts, intriguing works on paper, unique sculptures, exquisite textile and glass pieces, and more – all by accomplished artists from across the region.

Artworks available in person or online, with collections or local and international delivery.
LEARN MORE at https://gallery545.com/blogs/exhibitions/gallery-545-group-exhibition-2026

Featuring Lisa Ballard, Justė Bernotaitė, Ronan Bowes, Majella Clancy, Emma Fitzpatrick, Elham Hemmat, Eamonn Higgins, Ashely B. Holmes, Janet Keith, Sharon Kelly, Louise Lennon, Judith Logan, Alison Lowry, Sinéad McKeever, Robert McLearnon, Sarah McWilliams, Frances O’Reilly, Wilhelmina Peace, Maria Perry, Latisha Reihill, Katherine St Angelo, and Anushiya Sundaralingam.
Curated by Francesca Biondi, Art Director & Curator, Gallery 545.

In October 2025 Innovate UK Business Growth  very kindly hosted a brunch event for NI creatives in our Hill St studios. At this exclusive session we heard from Innovate UK directly, who explained that they can look broadly for creatives at funding and support from different sources as well as provide one-on-one support. We also heard from two of their most exciting creative companies with Rebecca Walsh from Big Motive  and Phil Weirand May Cheung from Flax and Teal sharing their innovation journeys from early-stage to scaling success!

Here are some of our top takeaways from those companies!

01. Reach out to organisations like Innovate UK and other creative and business support organisations to see what support or opportunities may be available. Even if you aren’t sure if you are eligible

02. Before applying for opportunities, ask yourself “Is it worth my time applying?” but also don’t be afraid to put yourself forward for opportunities

03. Reflect on your processes and use technology to automate as many as possible to save you time and energy

04. For international projects make sure that you understand cultural similarities and differences to successfully deliver projects

05. If you are growing your creative business make sure you really understand your company culture and values, so you know who to hire to fit that culture.

Bank Holiday Weekend creative reading inspiration! Make the most of the good weather we are hopefully going to get and do some reading for your creative business! 

- - BLICK CREATIVE RESOURCES - BOOK INSPIRATION - DO FLY BY GAVIN STRANGE - - 

Do Fly was recommended as a constant source of inspiration by Ian Pitt Creative Director of @mehimandherdesign who did a brilliant creative talk for us in 2025.

For more information and to buy a copy visit: https://thedobook.co/products/do-fly-find-your-way-make-a-living-be-your-best-self?Format=Paperback also available on Kindle if you want to read it straight away.

Lovely visit yesterday afternoon to the always beautiful Stormont Estate for the Ulster University Enterprise Placement Year Celebration Event.

Thanks Jackie Smyth  for the event invite and for inviting us to be a small part of the programme with our Retail Ready Fieldtrip last October

It was inspiring to hear from a variety of placement year participants including Maja Szotkiewicz founder of @majukooo Majakooo, Josh McAvoy co-founder of Aura Studios, April Rose founder of @aprilrosemarketing and Josh McCamley and Zach Johnston co-founders of Mad Moon Studios and also to see other creatives including @laurenkelsoillustrator and Grainne Mullan co-founder of @kitschsistersbelfast exhibiting their work

It was a great programme to be part of and wonderful to see the progress and confidence of all the participants

Meet The Resident: Lorna McFall User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Designer within the Video Games Industry

In our latest Meet The Resident we get to know one of our new residents at our Hill Street Studios, Lorna McFall a User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Designer within the Video Games Industry.

Read the full interview on the blog on our website ✨️

Some of the things we are organising at Blick in May!

Blick Creative Talk – Maureen Selina Laverty Product and Fashion Designer
Event Date: Tuesday 5th May
Event Time: 7.00pm - 8.00pm
Location: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB
Cost: Free

Rapid Feedback for Makers - one-on-one industry feedback ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT
Event Date: Wednesday 6th May
Event Time: 11:00am-4:00pm
Location: Belfast School of Art Shop, 25-51 York St, Belfast BT15 1ED
Cost: Free

Womenfolk X Kitsch Sisters Creative Practice Commitment Workshop: Embroidered & Printed Tote Bag
Event Date: Wednesday 6th May
Event Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Location: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LB
Cost: £20

Design Stories: Motion Graphic Showcase & Poster Exhibition. Session 1 & Session 2
Event Date: Thursday 7th May
Event Time: 9.00pm - 10.00pm
Location: Belfast Stories (Bank of Ireland Building) 92 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 2GU
Cost: Free

Seaside Books Intermediate Weekly Poetry Workshop
Event Date: Tuesday 12th May
Event Time: 6.30ppm - 8.00pm
Location: Blick Shared Studios, 65 Great Northern Street, Belfast, BT9 7FL
Cost: £40

More info on the events page of our website: https://blickstudios.org/events/

Ahead of her creative talk for us as part of @belfastdesignwk next Tuesday evening @maureenselinalaverty has done this brilliant interview for us on her path to becoming a designer, her recent move back to Northern Ireland from Norway and the differences she has noticed between working as a designer in both countries.

You can read the interview on the blog on our website or book a ticket for her talk on the events page of our website or on the Belfast Design Week website

www.belfastdesignweek.com

Our third and final blog sharing insights from the Retail Ready Fieldtrip for Ulster University Enterprise Placement Year Students we hosted in October 2025.

We previously shared some of our best insights from the day from Linzi and Emma, today we are sharing those from Rachel McIlgorm founder of @storyboxni  a Belfast based ethical gifting company offering curated, sustainable gifts from small and social impact businesses across the UK and Ireland through corporate gifting initiatives and a gift shop based n Portview Trade Centre in East Belfast.

01. Email and introduce yourself. Rachel suggested for retailers such as hers which are social enterprises and interested in the ethics of their suppliers you should send an email and introduce yourself and share your story and why your product would fit their shop.

02. Invest in good quality images of your products

03. Make sure you know your pricing. Account for retailers margins and include details of your pricing when contacting retailers.

04. Don’t be afraid to follow up if you don’t get a response from a retailer.

05. Use your story to market your product. Make your story personal and use it throughout your marketing and branding to differentiate your product.

Rachel is also very kindly taking part in our Rapid Feedback for Makers event on Wednesday 6th May as part of Belfast Design Week

During this event 8 emerging makers and designers will have the opportunity to meet with and get one-on-one feedback from 4 independent design and retail professionals Rachel, Catherine McGinnis co-founder of Maven, Celeste Macormac Owens Retail Co-ordinator Belfast School Of Art Shop and Kate McILhagger-Ng KMN Creative Consulting – formerly Head of Product Development at Made.com.

Get more info and sign up on the Belfast Design Week website www.belfastdesignweek.com

-- OUR IMPACT--

Blick is a social enterprise, we put profits made from our services into supporting creatives in NI, we are currently busy working on Belfast Design Week but here is a summary of some of our social impact from 2024 -2025. You can also find more info on our past impact on our website

https://blickstudios.org/the-team/our-impact/