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Creative Roundup

Our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for NI creatives. Sailortown Festival Smartphone Photography Exhibition Closing date: 1st June Design Academy Adapt The Design Academy is developed in collaboration between VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub...

An Interview With YEO Magazine Founder Saul Duffin

Saul is one of our current creative residents in our Hill Street studios and is sharing his creative story at our next Blick Academy Creative Talk on Wednesday 5th June. This interview gives a bit of an insight into Saul...

Paul Boal’s Talk: What I Learnt

We had a big deadline at Blick earlier this month, so I am a bit late with this write up of the key things I learnt from our April Blick Academy event with Paul Boal founder of Clever Ghost. Clever...

An Interview With Designer Paul Boal

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 some questions and get to know him a bit better. Here he...

Creative Roundup April

Our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives £575,000 Augment the City Challenge Fund As part of Augment the City Challenge, Belfast City Council is looking for creative technology innovators to develop concepts and proposals...

Calling Creative Women Business Owners

Are you a local creative woman with your own creative business? If so, we would love to feature you on our Womenfolk website! This is free of charge and aims to celebrate local creative women. Get in touch with Christine...

Alana McDowell’s Talk: What I Learnt

Thanks to everyone who joined us last Wednesday evening to hear multidisciplinary designer Alana McDowell share her creative journey at our first Blick Academy creative talk of the year. Alana imparted so much wisdom during her talk in a really...

An Interview with Multidisciplinary Designer Alana McDowell

Ahead of sharing her creative story with us at our next Blick Academy Creative Talk this Wednesday evening we thought it would be nice to ask Alana some questions and get to know her a bit better. Here she shares...

Creative Roundup

Our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives CQAF Creative Bursary Scheme The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, which has presented the best in local and international arts for over 20 years, has announced new Bursary...

Blick Summer Meet 2023

Looking back at 2023 as we plan for the year ahead!

As we approach the end of January and make plans for the year ahead we wanted to take some time to look back and reflect on the previous year. To learn from and have gratitude for all of our experiences...

Meet the Resident: Stephanie Heckman

Stephanie is one of our newest creative residents in our Hill St studios. Here she tells us a bit about her creative practice, her journey with her business so far as well as some of the things that have helped...

‘Art500’ Online

Gallery 545 Group Exhibition 2 December 2023 – 2 January 2024 Gallery 545 online - always open Private viewings on request in Belfast (in person of selected artworks) Blick Resident Gallery 545 presents a new edition of ‘Art500’. This is a...

Christmas Creative Roundup

It's December! Christmas is coming, one of the most important seasons for many local creatives who sell direct to consumers! fortunately there are loads of amazing ways you can buy local this year and make it a successful season for...

Creative Roundup of Funding, Support, Events & Opportunities for Creatives

Worth Partnership Project - Open Call for Creatives WORTH invites creatives to share their ideas on tech innovation, circular game changer solutions, social impact, or a creative business idea in the lifestyle industries. WORTH Partnership Project II creates and supports...

Vienna Creative Skills Week Venue University of Applied Arts Vienna

Creative Skills Week Vienna 2023: Things to Think About

Thanks to the European Creative Hubs Network I was fortunate to get the opportunity to attend Creative Skills Week 2023 in Vienna last week. What an amazing few days in a beautiful city! Here are some of the bits I...

Blick Resident Gallery 545: Contemporary Art of Northern Ireland #4

Gallery 545 one of our current Blick Malone residents has a new exhibition starting this Saturday 9th September in the Island Arts Centre see details below Group Exhibition Gallery 545 at the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn 9 – 30 September...

Insights from our Blick Summer Meet

On Wednesday 23rd August we hosted our Summer Meet on the theme ‘Courage’ we had two brilliant local creatives sharing their stories. Caroline McHugh owner of Little Fox Events. Since she set up Little Fox Events, three years ago, Caroline...

10 Things we Learnt at this Weekend’s Creative Workshops

We had a lovely weekend with all of our different workshops with different groups of creatives. It was great just to have so many different people back in our space. There is always so much to learn from the different...

Blick Summer Meet: Some Photos

We were too busy chatting and listening at our Summer Meet on Wednesday night to post any pics. So here are a few belated pics from a wonderful evening. Thanks to all who came and most importantly to our two...

Kerry Whelan X Pure Dirt Exhibition Opening

Here are some pics from last Friday's Kerry Whelan and Pure Dirt collaborative exhibition opening in our Malone Studios.

Belfast Design Week Research Trip to Vietnam

2023 got off to an exciting start for us at Blick, with a research trip to Hanoi Vietnam for Belfast Design Week. In 2015 we co-founded Belfast Design Week and for the next 5 years it was one of our...

Meet the Resident: Artist Kerry Whelan

We are delighted to introduce you to artist Kerry Whelan a new resident in our Malone Studios Tell us a bit about yourself and your creative work? My name is Kerry and I am an oil painter. I paint primarily...

Meet the Resident: Artist Michael Winchester

We are very excited to introduce you to one of our newest residents talented artist Michael Winchester Tell us a bit about yourself and your creative work? I am an artist living in Belfast, currently just focusing on making as...

Meet Our Community: Blick Graduate Resident Hannah Griffin

Meet Hannah Griffin our second graduate resident Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your creative business idea? My name is Hannah Griffin, I am an illustrator from Belfast and I graduated last year, in Graphic design...

Our Time is Now Exhibition

Our Time is Now is a video podcast series we created in collaboration with Creating A Space sharing the stories and exploring the creative journeys of 5 Belfast creative entrepreneurs. The exhibition features a series of behind the scenes and...

Our Time is Now – What we Learnt from all the Creatives

We've come to the end of our first 'Our Time is Now' video podcast series sharing the stories of 5 different successful Belfast creatives. We have tried to showcase a diverse range of creatives from different backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, ages,...

It Might Take Longer Than You think, But That Doesn’t Mean it Won’t Work

From 15 years observing creatives on their creative journey it takes longer than most people think to be financially sustainable and confident of long term success. It usually seems to take about 5 years and certainly that was true for...

Our Time is Now Exhibition Opening

On Friday 28th April we hosted a small opening for our new Our Time is Now podcast series exhibition. Our Time is Now is a video podcast series exploring how 5 local creatives live and thrive in Belfast. Sharing their...

Our Time is Now Tony McGaharan – What we Learnt

Tony is a learning designer and founder of People Playbook a global learning and development consultancy that crafts and facilitates learning experiences which are fresh, engaging and interactive. Tony is our fifth and final interviewee for this series of ‘Our...

Our Time is Now Tanice Samuels – What we Learnt

Tanice is an Irish-Jamaican, Belfast based content creator who focuses on aesthetics, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Tanice offers content creation, social posting and events services. Tanice is the fourth Belfast creative to share her journey with us for ‘Our Time...

Mel Carroll Usfolk

Our Time is Now Mel Carroll – What We Learnt

Mel Carroll is an illustrator and designer and the founder and director of Usfolk Illustration agency. Usfolk is a Belfast based illustration agency, hosting 30+ illustrators from all corners of the globe. As well as running multiple projects in the...

Our Time is Now Linzi Rooney – What We Learnt

Linzi Rooney is the founder of Born & Bred a Belfast City Centre store and e-commerce site specialising in Belfast and Irish themed gifts and homeware. Born & Bred exists to help artists thrive. Founded in 2014 by Linzi, Born...

Our Time is Now Macy Stewart – What we Learnt

Macy Stewart is a fashion and portrait photographer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After a year with Mastered (London) for fashion photography in 2018, Macy has built up an impressive client list. She has shot with the likes of Lifestyle...

As we enter this quieter holiday period, today we are looking back to May, a fantastic busy month for us at Blick that included a creative talk with artist and illustrator Danni Simpson, conversations and catchups around Belfast Design Week. 2 fun-filled bank holidays and the end of our Nurture Programme and its final activities which included a fieldtrip visit to Maven and Bag of Bees design studio on the Lisburn Road, as well as a celebratory lunch (we forgot to take pics) and an exhibition and creative talks to celebrate the programme and its participants!

Jul 9

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As we enter this quieter holiday period, today we are looking back to May, a fantastic busy month for us at Blick that included a creative talk with artist and illustrator Danni Simpson, conversations and catchups around Belfast Design Week. 2 fun-filled bank holidays and the end of our Nurture Programme and its final activities which included a fieldtrip visit to Maven and Bag of Bees design studio on the Lisburn Road, as well as a celebratory lunch (we forgot to take pics) and an exhibition and creative talks to celebrate the programme and its participants!

Working from our lovely Great Northern Street Studios breakout space this evening on some plans for the rest of 2025. Lots of exciting things to come after the summer!

Jul 8

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Working from our lovely Great Northern Street Studios breakout space this evening on some plans for the rest of 2025. Lots of exciting things to come after the summer!

Looking back to some of my favourite bits from our Nurture Creative Incubation Programme which ran from October last year to the end of May. Including:

The end of programme talks and exhibition

Our group weekly peer mentoring sessions

Our group fieldtrip to Maven

Interviews with the participants Bethany Millican @bethanysmillican , Vera Hylands @verahylands and Grainne Mullan @point_angel_

A pic of us all together at the end of the programme!

I had such a great time working with all the participants at our weekly peer mentoring and monthly one-on-one sessions and at the monthly workshops with different creatives (such a good time I mostly forgot to get pics) and look forward to keeping in touch and seeing how they progress!

Jul 4

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Looking back to some of my favourite bits from our Nurture Creative Incubation Programme which ran from October last year to the end of May. Including:

The end of programme talks and exhibition

Our group weekly peer mentoring sessions

Our group fieldtrip to Maven

Interviews with the participants Bethany Millican @bethanysmillican , Vera Hylands @verahylands and Grainne Mullan @point_angel_

A pic of us all together at the end of the programme!

I had such a great time working with all the participants at our weekly peer mentoring and monthly one-on-one sessions and at the monthly workshops with different creatives (such a good time I mostly forgot to get pics) and look forward to keeping in touch and seeing how they progress!

Evening light ✨️

Jul 2

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Evening light ✨️

Putting together our new ‘Nurture Programme’ exhibition in our South Belfast studios last month!

Jul 2

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Putting together our new ‘Nurture Programme’ exhibition in our South Belfast studios last month!

Our latest roundup of local and international funding, support & opportunities for NI creatives

01. £550,000 in funding available to support 5G-driven innovation in local industries

Organisations can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £100,000 for projects that make innovative use of 5G and other types of advanced wireless connectivity to deliver economic, social, and environmental impacts.

02. Cluster Acceleration Programme

Phase One Feasibility Study: Offers up to £55,000 to SME led networks consisting of a minimum of 8-10 SMEs, to scope out innovative collaborative projects with the potential to increase business competitiveness

Deadline: 15:00 on Friday, 25 July 2025.

03. National Lottery Major Individual Artist Awards (SIAP)

Major Individual Artist Awards are intended to create the circumstances in which established artists with national / international recognition may develop extended or ambitious work.
Four awards of up to £15,000 each are being offered in 2025/26.
Deadline: Friday 11th July, 2025, 12:00PM

04. Upscale Applications are Now Open!

Designed to accelerate your next stage of growth, Upscale offers direct access to insight, connections, and community you need to scale with confidence. As part of the nationally recognised cohort, you’ll also unlock lifetime access to an influential network of fellow founders and top-tier investors.

05. Technation Creo Applications Now Open!

Creo is for disabled founders and entrepreneurs innovating around disability. If you’re a founder who self-identifies as disabled or neurodiverse, or your company is innovating around disability or neurodiversity then apply now.

Full listings including links on the blog on our website (link in profile)

Jul 1

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Our next Blick `Meet the Team` video all about how the Blick team sisters Christine and Rosy find working together!

Jun 27

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Our next Blick 'Meet the Team' video all about how the Blick team sisters Christine and Rosy find working together!

In our latest `Meet the Resident Interview` we get to know Sarah Baecher @art_by_sarebear an artist from the U.S. and one of our latest residents in our Cotton Court studios!

You can read her full interview on our website link below and in profile: https://blickstudios.org/blog/12724/

Jun 26

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Our latest roundup of local and international funding, support & opportunities for NI creatives

01. FutureStage XR: XR Training for the Performing Arts
What participants will gain:
- A clear understanding of XR technology and its creative possibilities
- Foundational skills in Unity for XR development
- Insight into crafting compelling stories in immersive media
- A practical roadmap for applying XR to new or existing projects

Participants who complete the course will also be eligible to apply for the Future Foundation Technical Mentorship Programme. This opportunity pairs artists with XR experts to develop and test a creative concept. The programme includes:
- Access to XR equipment and facilities
- A training support grant of £1500
- A chance to showcase work in progress.
Further details about the technical mentorship programme will be announced later in the year.

Deadline: 1st August

02. Digital Art Studios Residencies
The DAS Home Residency provides four months for you to develop a project of your choice, expanding your skills and practice. Open to artists across Ireland and the UK, we welcome proposals from artists whose work employs digital technologies to challenge artistic boundaries and reimagine the cultural landscape.
Deadline: 27th July at midnight

03. August Craft Month 2025 exhibition, (Un)Bound, is now accepting applications
Craft NI are delighted to welcome applications to take part in the 2025 August Craft Month Exhibition! This exhibition will have a number of prizes aimed at supporting makers at different stages of their careers and will take place during August as part of the August Craft Month celebrations, held in the Craft NI Gallery,
Deadline: 27th June

04. Belfast City Council Business Growth Support – Go Succeed Grow: Creating Video Content on Your Smartphone
Date: 27th June
Time: 10 - 12.30pm
Venue: Innovation Factory

05. Magnetic 4 Artist Residencies
Magnetic is a joint Franco-UK initiative that brings together ten institutions to create a programme of artist residencies of 2 to 3 months each.

Full listings including links on the blog on our website (link below and in profile) https://blickstudios.org/blog/12721/

Jun 24

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Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working with Queen`s and Ulster University on their DesignLink collaborative design sprint project to help us come up with some new ideas for relaunching @belfastdesignwk

For the project emerging designers Hollie and Deirdre came up with some great ideas for us that were showcased on Friday at Queen`s University.

We`re looking forward to seeing what we can do with these ideas next and seeing how we can implement them into @belfastdesignwk

Jun 23

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Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working with Queen's and Ulster University on their DesignLink collaborative design sprint project to help us come up with some new ideas for relaunching @belfastdesignwk

For the project emerging designers Hollie and Deirdre came up with some great ideas for us that were showcased on Friday at Queen's University.

We're looking forward to seeing what we can do with these ideas next and seeing how we can implement them into @belfastdesignwk

Our second Blick `Meet the Team` video, all about where the idea for Blick came from!

Jun 18

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Our second Blick 'Meet the Team' video, all about where the idea for Blick came from!

Our latest roundup of local and international funding, support & opportunities for NI creatives

01. Illustrators Exhibition Open Call

The Ballaí Bana Gallery in Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, Belfast seeks submissions from EMERGING ILLUSTRATORS for wall-based artwork for either solo or group exhibitions for our 2026 programme.
Successful artists will be paid a fee of £300 and there is a 20% gallery commission charged on sold artwork.
Deadline: 16th June

02. Future Makers

Established in 2009, Future Makers is one of the largest prize-funded award programmes in Europe, creating a platform to showcase talent, as well as providing much needed financial support. Divided into student and emerging practitioner categories, Future Makers supports this crucial time in the career path of young designers.
Deadline: 20th June

03. Horizon Europe Pump Priming collaboration opportunities 2025

Innovate UK and British Academy are pleased to announce funding schemes for Horizon Europe Pump Priming Grants, open to all disciplines. Successful applicants will have access to grant funding of up to £5,000
Deadline: 15th July 5pm

04. An Introduction to Business Planning workshop
This insightful half day session will give you practical knowledge, tips and advice on what to put into your business plan and will also get you thinking about the bigger picture, including your strategic vision, mission and more!
Date: 19th June
Time: 9.30 - 2.30pm
Venue: University of Atypical

05. Call Out for Creative Connections Cluster Facilitators – Creative Connections 2025/26

Are you a creative practitioner or educator with a love for creativity? The Creative Connections Shared Island Pilot Programme needs you to join their team

Full listings including links on our blog (link in profile)

Jun 13

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Following a brilliant 8-months at the end of May we sadly said goodbye to our Nurture Incubation Program Participants
- Artist and Illustrator @bethanysmillican
- Artist and Content Creator @verahylands
- Textile Designer-maker and Founder of Kitsch Sisters Grainne Mullan @kitschsistersbelfast @point_angel_

We have loved working with them over the past 8 months and having them be part of Blick and wish them all the best for the future with their creative businesses!

This programme was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

Jun 11

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Following a brilliant 8-months at the end of May we sadly said goodbye to our Nurture Incubation Program Participants
- Artist and Illustrator @bethanysmillican
- Artist and Content Creator @verahylands
- Textile Designer-maker and Founder of Kitsch Sisters Grainne Mullan @kitschsistersbelfast @point_angel_

We have loved working with them over the past 8 months and having them be part of Blick and wish them all the best for the future with their creative businesses!

This programme was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

- - BLICK VIRTUAL OFFICE SERVICE - -

As well as offering physical workspace we also offer virtual office space for creative businesses. You can use our Hill St address for your creative business giving your business a professional public image and keeping your home address private.

We offer 2 different services:

MONTHLY BUSINESS ADDRESS SERVICE

- £22.50 monthly or £200 annually for UK based creative businesses

- At the start of each month we will redirect up to 15 items of regular and standard large letter-sized business mail to the address of your choice. Post beyond the 15 letters will be charged at the price of postage, and the cost will be added to your following bill.

WEEKLY BUSINESS ADDRESS SERVICE

- £30 monthly or £300 annually for UK based creative businesses

- We will redirect business mail to the address of your choice weekly. Up to 25 items of regular and standard large letter-sized mail per calendar month. Post beyond the 25 letters will be charged at the price of postage, and the cost will be added to your following bill.

Blick is a social enterprise meaning profits from our virtual office service go towards events and workshops and programmes of support for creatives in Belfast!
�
For more info email rosy@blickstudios.org or visit our website (link below and in profile) https://blickstudios.org/virtual-services/

Jun 9

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GOAL SETTING RESOURCES

Our resources for emerging creatives this month are all about goal setting, starting with some basic information on what goals and in particular what SMART goals are. We put together these resources following a brilliant strategic goal setting workshop we hosted in collaboration with Stephanie Heckman earlier this year. The workshop really reminded me of the importance of having a vision for the future and regularly setting achievable goals to help you get there. This is especially important I think in the very early days when you don`t yet have a lot of regular clients and work and it can be hard to stay focused, �keep yourself moving forward and stay motivated.

We have added some initial goal setting resources on the `Creative Resources` section of our website, including a goal setting template and some tips on how to actually go about making the goals you set happen. Let us know what works for you and if there`s anything you think would help other creatives that we should add!

Link below and in profile

https://blickstudios.org/resources/goal-setting/

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May 30

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NURTURE CREATIVE INCUBATION PARTICIPANT INTERVIEW: GRAINNE MULLAN

Our final Nurture creative incubation program participant interview. Today with Textile Designer and Maker and Co-founder of @kitschsistersbelfast Grainne Mullan @point_angel_
You can also read the full interview on our website blog (link in profile)

All our program participants will be sharing their stories this evening in our Great Northern Street Studios in South Belfast studios at 7pm (booking link on website)

This programme was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

May 28

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Some more bank holiday reading. Our second Nurture creative incubation program participant interview. Today with Illustrator and Artist @bethanysmillican

You can also read the full interview on the blog on our website (link in profile)

This programme was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

May 26

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Some Sunday night reading!

NURTURE CREATIVE INCUBATION INTERVIEW: VERA HYLANDS

Nurture was an 8-month creative incubation program which ran from October 2024 to May 2025.

Nurture aimed to support emerging creatives to establish their creative practice through bespoke meaningful business support within the nurturing creative environment of Blick Shared Studios.

Here we find out more about @verahylands
an artist and content creator who took part on the program.

You can also read the full interview on our website blog (link in profile)

This programme was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

May 25

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Some of our favourite bits from our April Creative Talk with @laurenkelsoillustrator

This creative talk was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

May 23

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Some of our favourite bits from our April Creative Talk with @laurenkelsoillustrator

This creative talk was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

In April award-winning illustrator @laurenkelsoillustrator shared her creative story with us at our monthly Creative Talk!

This creative talk was kindly supported by Belfast City Council

May 22

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In April award-winning illustrator @laurenkelsoillustrator shared her creative story with us at our monthly Creative Talk!

This creative talk was kindly supported by Belfast City Council