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Art & Illustration
Our latest roundup of opportunities for creatives in NI
01. Techstart Proof of Concept Grant Fund
The Techstart Proof of Concept Grant Fund is a pre-commercial grant awarding fund. On a competitive basis, the fund supports entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland with grants to explore the viability and commercial potential of an innovative concept.
02. Creative Boom launches Boom Briefs
Need to update your portfolio? Or looking for your next challenge? Push yourself out of your comfort zone with Creative Boom’s monthly creative prompts: Boom Briefs.
03. Call for Applications: CIRCLE Fiction Orbit 2025
CIRCLE Fiction Orbit is an intensive one-week workshop designed to support filmmakers—directors, writers, and producers—developing their second, third or fourth fiction feature, and this year it’s going to Montenegro in November. This opportunity comes with a participation fee.
Closing date: 15th August 2025
04. China Artists Residency Programme
Up to a 30 days residency in Beijing. For the pilot year, Digital Arts is the selected artform for the residency. This year’s Residency Programme is for Digital Artists working within the arts sector in Northern Ireland.
Closing date: 21st August
05. Art Breakfast Club Belfast
Meet-up in Pottinger’s Cafe in the City Centre
Date: Saturday 16th August, 10.30am
06. CraftNI ‘THE GIFT’ (Christmas Selling Exhibition) Callout
Craft NI Gallery are inviting applications from makers across a variety of craft disciplines to take part in ‘THE GIFT’, a curated Christmas exhibition celebrating both the accomplishments of local craft makers and elegance of artisan gifting.
Application Deadline: Friday 5th September, 5pm
Full listings including links on the blog on our website (link in profile and below)
https://blickstudios.org/blog/creative-roundup-opportunities-for-creatives-3/
Aug 12
Some words of wisdom to start your week from our latest Meet the Resident interview with Sarah Baecher, an artist from the U.S. and one of our newest Cotton Court residents!
You can read her full interview on our website link below and in profile https://blickstudios.org/blog/12724/
Aug 11
- - RESOURCES FOR CREATIVES - TOOLS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS - -
Here are some tools and methods to help you set goals for your creative business and achieve them.
1. Journalling
Use a journal for tracking your goals and smaller daily achievements.
2. Use Your Mobile Phone
Use your mobile phone to set daily reminders or use goal setting apps.
3. Goal Setting Apps and Software
Use goal setting and project management software, tools and apps such as:
• Monday - (this is what we use at Blick and we couldn`t survive without it)
• Clickup
• Wrike
• Hubspot
• Asana
• Trello
4. Motivational Notes and Images
Place motivational notes and posters around your home or work desk.
5. Visualisation Activities
Use visualisation activities e.g. mindfulness, affirmations and meditation.
6. Friends and Family
Accountability can help, tell friends and family what you’re working towards so they can offer support and keep you accountable.
6. Networking Groups and Meet Ups
Join groups or meet-ups with like-minded people trying to achieve similar goals
You can find all our goal-setting resources on the resources section of our website link below and in profile
https://blickstudios.org/resources/
Aug 10
- - RESOURCES FOR CREATIVES - GOAL SETTING TEMPLATE - -
Today we are sharing a goal-setting template to help you set realistic achievable goals to help you start or grow your creative business. You can use this template as a journal prompt or download as a pdf or word document from the creative resources section of our website! (Link below and in profile)
https://blickstudios.org/resources/goal-setting/
Aug 6
“This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything.” Scott Reed
A quote on the value of setting goals ahead of us sharing different resources later this week.
You can find all our goal setting resources on our website (link below and in profile) https://blickstudios.org/resources/goal-setting/
Aug 5
Ahead of sharing some new goal-setting resources next week, we are looking back on our strategic goal-setting workshop with Stephanie Heckman. By sharing some pics that we ran out of time for earlier this year.
It was such a great workshop, provoking great insights and reflections as well as providing practical actions to help attendees move towards future goals.
Aug 1
Loving these summer evenings in our South Belfast Studios 🌞 ☀️ 🌤
Jul 29
New Hill Street Sunday Art Market right outside our Hill Street Studios from 10am - 3pm each week!
Jul 27
Some great insights from our May Creative Talk with artist and illustrator @dannisimpsonart
Jul 25
Looking back to our May Creative Talk with artist and illustrator @dannisimpsonart
Jul 23
- - AVAILABLE WORKSPACE - BLICK SHARED STUDIOS, SOUTH BELFAST - -
We have one dedicated deskspace in our shared creative coworking space available:
– South Belfast location just off the Lisburn Road with lots of shops, coffee shops and bars within walking distance
– £150 per dedicated desk with allocated storage 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 our website for more info (Link below and in profile)
https://blickstudios.org/locations/great-northern-street/
Jul 21
Our latest roundup of local and international funding, support & opportunities for NI creatives
01. Cathedral Quarter Art Market
Applications are now open for the Cathedral Quarter Art Market – a new Sunday market celebrating handmade and independently designed work, set in the heart of Belfast’s most creative district.
Event Details:
Location: Hill Street, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast
Time: 10am – 3pm
Pitch Fee: £60 (includes your gazebo and trading licence)
Dates: Every Sunday from 27 July – 28 September
Spaces: Strictly limited to 24 traders per week
02. Tools for Togetherness – Tender Opportunity
Tools for Togetherness seeks to commission a series of pilot projects based around the concept of an ‘Artist-led Library of interventions; as shared Citizen Resource’. They are excited to empower creatives to create thoughtful interventions which align with fostering community togetherness in public spaces.
Closing date: Friday 22 August 2025 at 12 noon
03. Hawk’s Well Theatre Artist in Residence 2025
Project Lighthouse is a 12-month cross-border, cross-community peacebuilding project. You’ll work with young adults (aged 18–25) to co-create a powerful performance and legacy work in two border locations:
• Sligo (ROI)
• Derry/Londonderry (NI)
Delivery Period: September 2025 – September 2026
What to Submit:
A quotation and proposal
A budget breakdown (quotes considered, max €20,000 + VAT)
Contact: director@hawkswell.ie
Deadline: August 1st 2025, 5pm
04. Northern Ireland Screen – Camera Trainee (CINE Programme)
Location: Various production locations across Northern Ireland
Salary: £12.60 per hour (Real Living Wage)
Contract: Fixed-term training placements (non-continuous)
Hours: 40–60 hours per week, depending on production schedule
Closing Date: Friday 25th July 2025 at 1pm
05. Bring Your Own Art Art Show
This weekend in the Black Box Belfast and there’s still time to register and submit your work
Date: 20th July
Location: Black Box Belfast
Full listings including links on our website: https://blickstudios.org/blog/12766/
Jul 18
To celebrate the end of our Nurture Creative Incubation programme and its participants we have put together a small exhibition of the interviews they did for us and some examples of their work in our Great Northern Street studios!
Jul 16
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
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
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
Putting together our new ‘Nurture Programme’ exhibition in our South Belfast studios last month!
Jul 2
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
