The Holding Project seeks to build 20 compact, eco-friendly micro-homes in Belfast for young people. As the millennial generation become trapped in private rented accommodation for the long term, the project hopes to offer an alternative form of housing as a mechanism towards enabling social mobility. It also provides high quality, affordable and sustainable housing – which is currently under supplied in the city – and can utilise vital sites across the city which are currently vacant. The meanwhile use will provide new life to spaces previously neglected due to the historical troubles of the city.
Individuals apply to be part of the project, paying a monthly rent for a unit. The rent covers the running and maintenance of the project – including the units and site. But, an agreed percentage of each months rent is held by THP for the duration an individual remains a resident. Once an agreed savings target has been reached, the individual leaves and is replaced by another applicant. This process allows the impact to reach as many people as possible.
The money saved through the process is intended to allow residents to either formally enter the housing market, start a business, undertake education/training and to add value back into the city of Belfast.
How did you come up with the idea of The Holding Project?
There were a few factors that came together at the same time. Firstly, I was hugely frustrated with my personal experience of renting. I had been living and working in different cities including London and Dublin for the last 10 years and I had never had a positive experience with housing. I was a responsible tenant, yet had still managed to get charged unreasonably for things that were out of my control and I spent most of my wages on my rent. I thought there had to be another way to live and work towards savings and felt that housing had become a profit making activity for those who were better off than me. I had one experience of living in a log cabin in Dublin which demonstrated how easy and comfortable it was to live in a small, unique space within an urban setting so that led me to look at other examples of this such as shipping container conversions. I also realised that lots of other people felt the same and so decided to focus on idea of building a group of houses which would create a community. Lastly I realised that it may not be necessary to create permanent housing for people like me, all we needed was a transition period during which we could live affordably and comfortably whilst saving towards our future. I knew I couldn’t do justice to such a large project on my own so it was amazing to meet Sean and Chris, who provided their time, knowledge and creativity to make The Holding Project what it is today.
What does each of your team members do?
Initially we naturally found roles that suited our interests and talents – I was interested in spreading the word and finding new networks so took on an outreach role and also applied for funding. Chris is really design-led and was interested in the physical spaces – how they could be built efficiently and affordably, so he took on a design and operations role. This looks at every aspect of the micro house, from concept drawings to fabrication and interior design. Sean has an amazing capacity to absorb complex information so he looked at the larger systems surrounding the concept such as land ownership, urban planning and the current social and financial mechanisms within housing. As time as gone on we have dipped in and out of other roles as we’ve needed to, for example Sean has written our funding proposals and I have taken on more administrative tasks such as accounting.
Who are you creating housing for and why?
Our housing is primarily for young people in Belfast who are struggling in the private rented sector. Those who do not have the option of mum and dad’s housing or bank balance to fall back on. We would like to give those people an opportunity to live in micro housing within Belfast where they can begin saving towards a life goal that is currently unattainable. This might be starting a business, getting out of debt, going into education or training or formally entering the housing market.
However, we are aware that The Holding Project concept could be applied to any number of other communities such as social housing tenants, the homeless, the elderly, refugees and ex-offenders. We’ve chosen to begin with those who just require housing support so that we can learn how to adapt our model to those who may need additional support alongside housing.
What is the biggest challenge you have overcome and highlight of your journey so far?
For me, the biggest challenge lies in convincing the larger housing and governmental organisations that this is a viable solution to the current housing crisis for young people and others. We are a small fish in a very big pond and it’s quite a large project to commit funding to. However, with support from others such as Unltd and Bank Of Invention we have persevered with our proposals and we have had a very positive reception so far. We have been open minded, have adapted our approach and have learned a lot from the feedback that we have received. As a result, the initial concept has developed into a more rounded and considered idea that has financial, social and environmental credibility.
Personally, I have two highlights of the journey so far, the formation of our team has been one – without the three of us working together The Holding Project would never have come this far. Secondly, receiving a Winston Churchill Fellowship to explore approaches to affordable housing in other countries such as Finland, Sweden and the USA this year has given me more than words can even express! I have gained so much insight, inspiration and knowledge from the projects that I have seen and it has further convinced me that this can (and will) work here too.
The Holding Project
are:
Dearbhaile Heaney – Designer and Co-Founder, currently working as an Enterprise Executive at The Princes Trust Northern Ireland
Chris Miller – Designer and Co-Founder, currently undertaking MArch at Queens University Belfast
Sean Cullen – Researcher and Co-Founder, currently undertaking a PhD at Queens University Belfast
Our next Blick Animation Club event in partnership with Can Do Academy is on Saturday 18th May!
These mini animation master classes by Can Do Academy are a great introduction for children to the colourful world of Lego animation!
The workshop will allow participants to make a complete animated Lego film on an iPad, using sound effects, visual effects, titles and lots of imagination!
Your child will learn to use special iPad apps and they will receive a copy of their film at the end of the session! They can bring their own Lego characters or use the ones supplied by us.
More info at candoacademy.co.uk
Please note that these workshops are suitable for children aged 7+
Thank you to everyone who came down to our Blick Academy creative talk last night and thanks again to Paul Boal from @thatcleverghost for sharing his creative journey!
Introducing our new reformatted @womenfolk.co Junior.Senior. events. A series of leisurely bi-monthly Saturday morning brunch events for creative women in Belfast. Where over coffee, fruit and pastries within an intimate setting two local creative women will share the stories of their creative journeys. Each event will feature an established self-employed creative woman complimented by a young emerging creative starting out on their creative journey. Each speaker will tell the story of their creative journey so far and share honestly the challenges and opportunities they face. Giving different perspectives on the different stages of the creative journey.
These events are all about sharing knowledge and skills within the creative community so we can help each other grow. There will also be opportunities for meeting like-minded people, building community and creating new connections and helping champion young emerging designers by giving them the opportunity to share their story to a supportive and encouraging local audience.
Kick starting Saturday 15th June at 11.30am in our Hill Street Studios!
Event Date(s): June 15, 2024
Event Time: 11.30am
Location: Blick Shared Studios, Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LB
Another chance to see our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives
FUNDING, SUPPORT & OPPORTUNITIES
- £575,000 Augment the City Challenge Fund - CIRCE Fellowship Programme 2024 - Beyond Literature Borders – International Work Grant - Call 2 of the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) is now open for expressions of interest - InvestNI new £5 million programme has launched to support entrepreneurs and high growth start-ups in Northern Ireland. - InnovateUK Smart Grants: Up to £1M - Catalyst Stryve Programme - Invent Awards - Creative Lunch Club - The National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme – Travel Awards – rolling programme - Digital Arts Studios XR Research & Development Lab - Craft NI Garden Show Ireland Craft Village Call Out - Women in Business and Techstart Female Founders Grant - The Content Fund - National Trust Time and Space Newton Competition - The SideQuest X Creature Indie VR Fund - Horizon Europe Pump Priming Programme - British Council International Collaboration Grants - Poetry with pride - Wheelworks Arts I Will Volunteering Programme - Venice gap-financing market call for projects
EXHIBITIONS
Ringside, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Sean McGibbon, celebrating Belfast’s boxing culture. Venue: Ormeau Baths Belfast Date: 18 Apr at 6pm
Lavery on Location Venue: Ulster Museum Dates: 23rd Feb - 9th Jun
EVENTS
Go Succeed business events
AI and the Future of Live Experience Date and time: 10 Apr, 3pm - 5pm Location: online
How to produce a kick ass application Date and time: 10 Apr, 11 am - 12:30 pm Location: Online
XR Network+ online seminar: Sound Design in Virtual Production Date and time: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:00 - 15:15 BST Location: Online Pop Up Gallery Belfast
Dates and times: Sat 20th and Sun 28th Apr, 11am to 3pm Location: Black Box Belfast
East Block Bazaar Date and time: Sun 28th April 1pm to 5pm Location: Banana Block
FESTIVALS
Foyle Film Festival 2024 – Reel Lives 10 to 27 Apr
Hit the north 20th - 30th April
The 24th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2 to 12 May
You can read the full listings including links on our blog
- After a couple of years break, we gave ourselves a deadline and finally got our act together and re-launched our Womenfolk project (www.womenfolk.co) for creative women on International Women’s Day
- Including doing a call out for creative women business owners to feature on our Womenfolk platform (www.womenfolk.co)
- And inviting new members to join our ongoing Womenfolk Peer Mentoring group which meets on the last Tuesday of every month
- We welcomed new residents Horrible Brands to join our Cotton Court studios
- We completed an application for an exciting international project and connected with an international partner for another exciting project we hope to apply for this month
- We published the third exercise on creative and business values on our new resources for creatives section on our website https://blickstudios.org/resources/11802/
Looking back at what you have achieved in the past month is a great exercise in itself, to remind you that things are moving forwards and you are making progress even if it doesn’t always feel like it!
Ahead of sharing his creative story with us at our next Blick Academy Creative Talk on Wednesday 17th April we thought it would be nice to ask Paul founder of @thatcleverghost some questions and get to know him a bit better. Here he shares a bit about his business, how it has grown, his plans for the future and what he would do differently if he was to do it all again…
You can read the full interview on our blog on our website and also book tickets to his talk (link to both in profile)
Our latest roundup of funding, support, opportunities, events, exhibitions and festivals for creatives
FUNDING, SUPPORT & OPPORTUNITIES
- £575,000 Augment the City Challenge Fund - CIRCE Fellowship Programme 2024 - Beyond Literature Borders – International Work Grant - Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) is now open for expressions of interest - InvestNI new £5 million programme - InnovateUK Smart Grants: Up to £1M - Catalyst Stryve Programme - Invent Awards - Creative Lunch Club - The National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme – Travel Awards - Digital Arts Studios XR Research & Development Lab - Craft NI Garden Show Ireland Craft Village Call Out - Women in Business and Techstart Female Founders Grant - The Content Fund - National Trust Time and Space Newton Competition - The SideQuest X Creature Indie VR Fund - Horizon Europe Pump Priming Programme - British Council International Collaboration Grants - Poetry with pride - Wheelworks Arts I Will Volunteering Programme - Venice gap-financing market call for projects
EXHIBITIONS
Ringside, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Sean McGibbon Ormeau Baths Belfast 18 Apr at 6pm
Niamh McCann: ‘someone decides, hawk or dove The MAC 8 Dec - 7 Apr
Lavery on Location Ulster Museum 23rd Feb - 9th Jun
EVENTS
Blick Academy Creative Talk with Designer Paul Boal Wed 17th Apr, 7pm Blick Hill St
Go Succeed business events
Pollen studios market and workshop Pollen Studios 4th Apr 6-9pm
AI and the Future of Live Experience 10 Apr, 3pm - 5pm Online
How to produce a kick ass application 10 Apr, 11 am - 12:30 pm Online
Sound Design in Virtual Production Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:00 - 15:15 BST Online
Pop Up Gallery Belfast Sat 20th and Sun 28th Apr, 11am to 3pm Black Box Belfast
East Block Bazaar Sun 28th Apr Banana Block
FESTIVALS
Foyle Film Festival 2024 10 to 27 Apr
Hit the north 20th - 30th April
The 24th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2 to 12 May
Belfast 2024
You can read the full listings including links on our blog (link in profile)
Did you know that we also offer virtual office services for creatives?
Our virtual office services is an affordable business address service for creatives giving you access to a commercial business address, for a professional image and keeping your home address private.
Whether you are just starting out and can’t yet afford workspace or are happy to work from home but seeking a professional public image for your business.
With our virtual office service you can use our City Centre Cathedral Quarter address 46 Hill Street, BT1 2LB for your creative business for only £22.50 per month (paid quarterly) or £200 per year.
We have a small team ensuring you get a friendly, personal and professional service and as a local social enterprise it means your money goes back into the local economy and to support the creative industries in Northern Ireland.
Have a look at our website for more info and to read our FAQs (link in profile) or email christine@blickstudios.org for more info
This month`s new exercise on our website for anyone starting a new creative business is all about working out your personal and business values to help you define and develop your creative idea.
I first did a similar exercise to this when setting up Blick on a NESTA creative enterprise course way back in 2007 and it has been invaluable in helping me to make decisions and plans since and is really worth spending time on when starting out.
You can download the exercise as a PDF or word document on the creative resources section of our website (link in bio)
Our next Blick Academy Creative Talk on Wed 17th April is by local designer and creative company founder Paul Boal!
Paul Boal is the Founder of Clever Ghost @thatcleverghost a brand and design studio based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Founded in 2018 with a mission to influence positive change through clever design.
Paul and his team have created and managed brands across a diverse range of clients around the world from start-ups and SMEs to multinational companies.
His experience spans 14 years in the creative industry. To date, he has worked with clients including Cowen, the Irish Football Association, Queen’s University, Qualcom and evian in developing their brands and engaging with their audiences over numerous projects. Before founding Clever Ghost in 2018, Paul cut his teeth in various in-house design jobs. Eventually, he freelanced his way into several small design studios, overseeing the design team at a leading packaging company and working as a part-time lecturer in Creative Media.
Paul is one of our past creative residents at Blick and has done such an amazing job growing his business over the past few years, we are really excited to hear his story on how he started and has grown his creative business and his plans for the future.
You can find out more about Paul on his website: https://cleverghost.studio/ and instagram: @thatcleverghost
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Wednesday 17th April
Time: 7 - 8pm
Location: Blick Hill Street
Cost: Free
For more info and to book your ticket, visit the events page of our website (link in bio)
Some weekend reading, another chance to find out more about one of our newest residents, Stephanie Heckman @stephaniesaloli
Stephanie is originally from the Dutch dune coast, now based in Belfast since 2018. In her role as visual practitioner, she translates in real-time complex conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries that distil the essence of both content and undercurrent.
When done live at conferences or other events (either in-person or remotely) these visual summaries, or graphic recordings as they’re known, become a tangible memory aide for participants, whilst amplifying the key takeaways to a much bigger audience of those not present at the event.
Find out more about Stephanie and her creative practice, her journey with her business so far, as well as some of the things that have helped her on that journey.
You can read the full blog on our website (link in bio)
This month`s exercise for anyone starting a new creative business is all about working out your personal and business values to help you define and develop your creative idea.
Values are the principles that help you to decide what is right and wrong, and how to act in various situations. They are the basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions. They help you to determine what is important to you. They describe the personal qualities you choose to embody to guide your actions; the sort of person you want to be; the manner in which you treat yourselves and others, and your interactions with the world around you. They provide the general guidelines for conduct.
Business or professional values are the core values or standards that guide the way you do business or work professionally. They sum up what your business or creative practice stands for, influences the organisational culture and drives how and why you do things. While business plans and strategies may change, the core values of your business will usually remain the same. Company values help businesses grow and evolve without losing focus on what is important to them.
I first did a similar exercise to this when setting up Blick on a NESTA creative enterprise course way back in 2007 and it has been invaluable in helping me to make decisions and plans since and is really worth spending time on when starting out.
You can download the exercise as a PDF or word document on the creative resources section of our website link in bio
We are very excited to announce the speaker for our second Blick Academy Creative Talk of 2024 is local designer and company founder Paul Boal!
Paul Boal is the Founder of Clever Ghost @thatcleverghost a brand and design studio based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Founded in 2018 with a mission to influence positive change through clever design.
Paul and his team have created and managed brands across a diverse range of clients around the world from start-ups and SMEs to multinational companies.
His experience spans 14 years in the creative industry. To date, he has worked with clients including Cowen, the Irish Football Association, Queen’s University, Qualcom and evian in developing their brands and engaging with their audiences over numerous projects. Before founding Clever Ghost in 2018, Paul cut his teeth in various in-house design jobs. Eventually, he freelanced his way into several small design studios, overseeing the design team at a leading packaging company and working as a part-time lecturer in Creative Media.
Paul is one of our past creative residents at Blick and has done such an amazing job growing his business over the past few years, we are really excited to hear his story on how he started and has grown his creative business and his plans for the future.
You can find out more about Paul on his website: https://cleverghost.studio/ and instagram: @thatcleverghost
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Wednesday 17th April Time: 7 - 8pm Location: Blick Hill Street
After a bit of a break following the pandemic, we are delighted this International Women`s Day to bring back our @womenfolk.co project for creative women. New events and opportunities coming soon!
Tired of working from home? We have just this one lovely desk available in our Hill St studios for £165 per calendar month all inclusive
Send us a DM or email christine@blickstudios.org for more information or to arrange a viewing or visit the Hill St workspace page on our website (link in profile)