At Arts & Business NI, connection, ambition and partnership are at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the power of creativity, of dreaming big and working together to achieve more. We bring our arts and business members together, in original and unexpected ways with amazing results.
Working with Arts & Business NI member Seacourt Print Workshop, we commissioned an edition run of prints as part of our new strategy and to showcase the artistic talent within our arts membership. These prints will be used to celebrate and thank those who have worked with us to work towards a thriving arts and creative sector, achieving their ambitions and fulfilling their potential through connection and partnership.
Seacourt is a friendly open-access print workshop based in the seaside town of Bangor, Northern Ireland. They offer membership, courses and resources for all, as well as a self-arranged residency programme. They believe creativity is a powerful tool that can transform lives and that being creative for creativities own sake is restorative, exciting and a means of opening possibility!
Three of their resident artists produced stunning pieces responding to the themes of connection, partnership and ambition. Scroll on to see the results and find out more about the artists involved -
The image explores the theme of ambition, featuring a character reaching for a radiant star that represents their goals. They stretch, leap, and strive to grasp this aspiration. In the background, diverging paths symbolise the numerous routes available for achieving personal dreams, illustrating that there is no single journey to success. The illustration is executed in a playful, energetic style, brimming with texture and bold colours. It captures the vibrant essence of the pursuit of ambition and the joy and strength that is to be found along the way.
About the Artist: Imogen Donegan is a visual artist specialising in printmaking and illustration based in Bangor County Down. Her work explores themes surrounding nature, community, and the everyday, using texture and harmonious colours to evoke playfulness and warmth. Captivated by the imperfections and tactile qualities of printmaking, she values its hands-on, process-driven approach. At Seacourt Print Workshop, she enjoys layering colours through screen printing, creating vibrant, contemplative pieces that reflect her passion for the medium.
Follow Imogen's work on Instagram
The artist’s inspiration for the theme partnership is rooted in her love of nature, especially birds. On a trip to Portugal, Lis saw dozens of pairs of storks building their nests together. Lis watched for some time fascinated by these huge birds who worked together side by side to build their elaborate nests high up in the air. This inspired this tetrapak print of two storks building their huge nests high on a rooftop to rear their young together. Storks feature in folklore all over the world and they are consistently associated with happy news or things to come, also a feature of a good partnership.
About the Artist: Lis Selby has been a member of Seacourt for 6 years and after a lifetime of loving drawing and nature, now enjoys printmaking in her retirement. Lis had a varied career stating with a degree in science and worked in both research in teaching. She loves music, is a member of choirs and still teaches piano. Nature and birds have been a lifelong fascination for Lis and at Seacourt, having learned several print techniques she loves to create prints featuring a host of bird species in their natural habitats.
This print is a multi layered lino around the theme of connections: connecting on a very simple human level over a cup of coffee, meeting people, bouncing ideas and discovering links between our lives and interests.
The meeting we had with Art & Business NI to discuss this commission seemed to match the theme to perfection and became my inspiration for the print. Connections were everywhere… from people or events we had in common, to weird and wonderful interests. From discussing the pros and cons of chickpeas in sandwiches, to baby orangutans, via stork nests and food flies, our conversation was like a starling murmuration, a big interconnecting wave that swooshed around our coffee table.
About the artist: Nathalie Caleyron is originally from France but has lived in North Belfast for most of her life. She discovered printmaking through a workshop in Seacourt Print Workshop (Bangor) in 2015. It was a ‘love at first sight’ experience and she has been involved in printmaking and in Seacourt since. Her prints are mostly multiplate lino, often with an element of monoprinting, giving a uniqueness to each single hand pulled print within the same edition.
Follow Nathalie's work on Instagram
Photography by Jessicia Hollywood
Arts & Business NI is generously supported by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland.