Funded by Future Screens NI and Northern Ireland Screen as part of their ‘Rewriting the Narrative’ project, Small Town Big Dreams presents a 4-part audio documentary exploring personal stories of how the Covid-19 crisis has impacted on the work, communities, networks and health of creative entrepreneurs, freelancers and workers within the creative industry sector in Northern Ireland.

Guests:

Jacky Sheridan, Noxy & Sean McCafferty (Hypixel Studios & Hytale), Patricia McGinnis (Maven), Sean Duncan (RedCap Productions), Nisha Tandon (Arts Ekta), Aisling Rusk (Studio IDIR), David Moody, Ryan Ward (Take Two Studio), Shannon Delores O’Neill (Sister Ghost & GRSNI), Emma Johnston (Hunter Paper Co. + Hunt & Gather), Lauren Taylor (Lauren Taylor Creates), Andi Jarvis (Eximo Marketing Strategy), Paddy Raff, Tessa Ann (Sound Healing Spa) and Matt & Abby Bonner (Forever Social)

Call-ins:

Chris Thompson, Meadhbh McIlgorm, Katie Ireland (Katie Ireland Designs & MALA), Dara Flanagan and Alex McMillan.

Interviews and Narration: Graeme Watson (The Infinite Jest) & Karishma Kusurkar (Karishma’s World).

Academic Research: Dr. Brian Dixon (Ulster University)

Project Management: Christine James (Blick Shared Studios)

Funding Partner: Future Screens NI

EPISODE 4: STAYING SANE

With the world having been turned upside down, many people have struggled to make sense of the new normal. With so much uncertainty and when what’s at risk is as serious as people potentially dying, it’s no wonder that it has been so difficult to stay mentally well at this time, no matter how hard we try. For people living alone, this time has potentially been one of the most lonely experiences of their entire lives. For the introverts, this has been a chance to share their tips on how to enjoy solitude. The haves and have nots have been those with gardens and those without, those who can work from home and those who work front line, those who have good health and those who have underlying health conditions. In some ways, this time has highlighted the stark differences between people’s lifestyles.

But 2020 has also offered a pause for thought. It has forced us to re-evaluate how we live and work. Whether we really need to go to all of those in-person work meetings, or even have as many. Whether we need to buy fast fashion or whether we can do with consuming less. Whether we should finally do that thing we have been putting off, whether that is learning to cook or proposing to a partner.

Has 2020 fundamentally changed us as a society? Has it permanently altered the way in which we work in the creative industries? Or is it a glitch in time before we simply move on and Covid-19 eventually becomes just a distant memory?

In our season finale you’ll hear from creative entrepreneurs Paddy Raff, Tessa Ann (Sound Healing Spa) and Matt & Abby Bonner (Forever Social).

Thanks also to Chris Thompson, Meadhbh McIlgorm, Katie Ireland (Katie Ireland Designs & MALA), Dara Flanagan and Alex McMillan for their call-in contributions, reflecting on their experiences during 2020.

Presented by Karishma Kusurkar and Graeme Watson.

Produced in association with Blick Shared Studios, with support from Future Screens NI, Northern Ireland Screen, and Ulster University.

Supporting Academic Research by Dr. Brian Dixon.

The World Turned Upside Down is a Small Town Big Dreams Production.

EPISODE 3: CONNECTION LOST?

The restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic have escalated the adoption of digital communication technologies into almost everyone’s work and personal lives in a way that was unthinkable just a year ago.

In Part 3 of the World Turned Upside Down, we hear stories of how creatives have adapted to a life lived (and worked) almost exclusively online – the successes and challenges, disappointments and surprises. We’ll meet Shannon Dolores O'Neill from punk band Sister Ghost, stationary designer Emma Johnston, Newry-based American artist Lauren Taylor, and marketing expert Andi Jarvis.

Presented by Karishma Kusurkar and Graeme Watson.

The World Turned Upside Down was supported by FutureScreens NI, Northern Ireland Screen and Ulster University and it was recorded remotely.  Project management and additional support was from Blick Shared Studios. The podcast was produced, written, recorded and edited by Graeme Watson and Karishma Kusurkar. Academic research supporting the project is from Dr. Brian Dixon at Ulster University. 

Episode 3 Guests: Shannon Delores O’Neill (Sister Ghost, GRSNI), Emma Johnston (Hunter Paper Co., Hunt & Gather), Andi Jarvis (Eximo Marketing Strategy) & Lauren Taylor (Lauren Taylor Creates)

The World Turned Upside Down is a Small Town Big Dreams Production.

EPISODE 2: TOGETHER, APART

Self-Isolation. Social Distancing. Herd Immunity. Working From Home. Social Bubbles.  These phrases have all become synonymous with 2020 as we navigate the various relationships in our lives and how we can look after them even at a distance.  People have rekindled their long lost hobbies and found newfangled ones too, from music to DIY to making poetry. What’s been more important than ever before is community - which can mean different things to different people, from our families, friends and work colleagues to the collectives we belong to.  “We are all in this together” is a phrase we have heard many times before but this actually does ring true, both on a local and global scale for the first time this century.  

The World Turned Upside Down was supported by FutureScreens NI, NI Screen and Ulster University and it was recorded remotely.  Project management and additional support was from Blick Shared Studios. The podcast was produced, written, recorded and edited by Graeme Watson and Karishma Kusurkar. Academic research supporting the project is from Dr. Brian Dixon at Ulster University. 

Episode 2 Guests: Aisling Rusk (Studio Idir), David Moody, Nisha Tandon (ArtsEkta) & Ryan Ward (Take Two, Made in Mourne).

The World Turned Upside Down is a Small Town Big Dreams Production.

EPISODE 1: THE GREAT DISRUPTION

The New Year’s Eve of December 2019 seemed to most of us, just like any other. In cities and towns across the world, people took part in their familiar rituals to see out one year and welcome the new one. Maybe they went to get lost in a crowd watching spectacular fireworks at their city landmarks; maybe they gathered with friends or family, to drink and dance in warm conviviality. Or maybe – maybe they went to bed early with a notebook of plans and designs for the year ahead, which would start with a run at dawn. (Wait – do people actually do that? Apparently…

Episode 1 - The Great Disruption kicks off our 4 part audio documentary exploring the stories of creative industries entrepreneurs during coronavirus. It takes us back to the very beginning of 2020 and our guests - Jacky, Patricia, Noxy, Sean D and Sean McC - tell us their stories and experiences from the start of lockdown.

The World Turned Upside Down was supported by FutureScreens NI, NI Screen and Ulster University and it was recorded remotely.  Project management and additional support was from Blick Shared Studios. The podcast was produced, written, recorded and edited by Graeme Watson and Karishma Kusurkar. Academic research supporting the project is from Dr. Brian Dixon at Ulster University. 

Episode 1 Guests: Jacky Sheridan, Patricia McGinnis (Maven), Sean Duncan (Red Cap Productions), Noxy and Sean McCafferty (Hypixel & Hytale).

The World Turned Upside Down is a Small Town Big Dreams Production.

Welcome to Great Creators, a podcast series sharing the diverse stories of design and entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.

We’ll feature start-ups, community-led projects and established businesses which together make up the rich innovation ecosystem.

We want to highlight that opportunity is all around, if you know where to look for it and to delve deeper into understanding how a product or service comes about from those “in the know” - the designers and entrepreneurs themselves!

The podcast will share different business models and approaches, the challenges and pivots of entrepreneurial journeys and contain useful and easy-to-implement advice and resources.

If you’re interested in design, ideas, innovation and entrepreneurship, turn up the volume and listen in. This podcast is a project by The Graduate School at Queen’s University in partnership with Belfast Design Week.

EPISODE 1 - PRODUCT INNOVATION

The first episode is on product innovation and features Dr. Peter Barrett a scientist who has recently set up the first kombucha company in Northern Ireland The Buchas Dog and Azhar Murtuza an entrepreneur who initially came to study at The Graduate School at Queen’s University in Belfast from Mangalore in India and decided to stay and set up an ethical food business Born Maverick

EPISODE 2 - CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

The second episode features Tina Lauro Pollock Director of indie games development company Brain & Nerd talking about her business story and the indie games sector in Northern Ireland and Savannah Dodd a photographer and anthropologist originally from St. Louis in the USA and currently living, working and studying in Belfast.

EPISODE 3 - BIG MOTIVE & THE HOLYLAND PROJECT

Episode 3 features Damian Cranney designer, entrepreneur and founder of Big Motive and some of the team involved with The Holyland Project. The Holyland Project is one of a series of interventions happening in the Holyland area in South Belfast. Students from The Graduate School at Queen’s University, organisations such as The Forward South Partnership and the local residents of The Holyland have come together to create projects that will have real benefit to those living and working in the area.

EPISODE 4 - MADLUG & THE TURNAROUND PROJECT

This episode is all about Social Impact and features two companies MADLUG and The Turnaround Project forging the way for social entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.

EPISODE 5 - STARTLING START & PETER WORTH

In this episode we speak to two guests exploring design for public spaces, be they physical or experiential and working on projects both locally and internationally.

EPISODE 6 - ASTRA MCNICHOLL / ITTY BITTY BOOK CO & THE PODCAST CREATORS

We end this series with an uplifting interview with Astra McNicholl of Itty Bitty Book Co. & we talk about the series so far, about design and entrepreneurship and our upcoming projects.

ASTRA MCNICHOLL / ITTY BITTY BOOK CO.

Astra McNicholl is the Founder of Itty Bitty Book Co., a company which creates products that inspire and delight through their messages of hope and their strategies to help stay happy and build confidence. Itty Bitty Book Co. was founded in 2013 and has since grown to have both a local and international customer base with many shoppers from the UK and the USA. Astra’s aim is for the company to produce as ethically as possible as well as become carbon neutral and she is working towards this goal as the company develops.

Find out more:

www.ittybittybookco.com

www.instagram.com/ittybittybookco

www.twitter.com/IttyBittyBookCo

…

THE PODCAST CREATORS

In the final interview of the Great Creators series, we - the podcast creators - gather to discuss the podcast!

Find out more:

www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/

http://belfastdesignweek.com

RESOURCES

BUSINESS & INNOVATION

• The Graduate School at Queen's University - www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/

• QUB Enterprise SU - qubsu.org/EnterpriseSU/

• Blick Studios - https://www.blickstudios.org/

• Womenfolk - https://www.womenfolk.co/

• Invest NI - www.investni.com

• Invest NI Business Information Centre - www.investni.com/support-for-busi…tors-and-markets

• Catalyst Inc. - wearecatalyst.org

• Invent Awards - wearecatalyst.org/programmes/invent/

• NI Screen - www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk

• The Pixel Mill - www.thepixelmill.com

• UK Games Fund - ukgamesfund.com

• Department for Communities - www.communities-ni.gov.uk

• Ormeau Baths - ormeaubaths.com

• Sync NI - syncni.com

• Arts Council NI - artscouncil-ni.org

• Women in Business - www.womeninbusinessni.com

DESIGN THINKING TOOLS & PROJECTS

• Big Motive Blog - www.bigmotive.com/blog/

• Design Thinkers Academy - www.designthinkersacademy.com

• School Retool - https://schoolretool.org/

• Place NI - https://www.placeni.org/projects.html

• The Case for Belief - https://medium.com/@TeachersGuild/the-case-for-belief-e51256b9185e

• Small Hacks to Big Impact - https://vimeo.com/showcase/3443329/video/273275127

• Hacktivation Nation - https://dschool.stanford.edu/hacktivation-nation/

• Tools for Taking Action - https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources

EVENTS

• Belfast Design Week - belfastdesignweek.com

• Belfast Design Popup - https://www.belfastdesignpopup.com/

• Creative Mornings Belfast - creativemornings.com/cities/bfs

• Queen’s University Belfast - https://www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats-on/

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING

• Queen’s University Belfast Student Wellbeing Service - https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/

• Queen’s University Mind Your Mood - https://www.facebook.com/mindyourmood/ https://twitter.com/QUBMindYourMood

• Aware NI - https://www.aware-ni.org/wellbeing-programmes