NIAMH KELLY

We got the pleasure to do an interview with Niamh Kelly, who is a participant in our Dig Deep Program. We explored why she wanted to take part in the Dig Deep Program, her new business and how she has found building her business.

Can you introduce yourself - your name and what you do? 

My name is Niamh Kelly and I work in creative engagement in the arts, heritage and cultural sector. I currently work with young people, but I am open to expanding this out to different communities.

Why did you want to take part in the Dig Deep Programme? 

Dig Deep came along at a perfect time for me – in fact, I probably wouldn’t have created my own business if not for Dig Deep. When I was going through a transition period between jobs in the summertime, someone suggested to me that I try doing some consultancy work as a way of supporting myself independently.

Even though I moved on with my job, this idea stuck with me. So when I saw Dig Deep advertised, a free programme helping young women to set up and develop creative businesses, I thought I’d go for it and give freelancing a shot.

What is the new business that you have been developing? 

I’m freelancing in creative community engagement in the arts, cultural and heritage sector through services such as project management, consultancy and training.

What has been your biggest hurdle since you started your business? 

I’d probably say having confidence in what I do – I’ve discovered I procrastinate because I’m not confident in finalising or putting things out there (hitting the send or publish button). When you’re the one setting your own deadlines, it’s easy to push them back and tell yourself ‘I want to get another look at this’ or ‘Just a few more tweaks’ on a loop.

However, I saw Dig Deep putting up the quote recently that ‘Done is better than Perfect’. I think the wisdom of this has a lot to do with one of these states being within our power and the other far from it.

How do you see your business developing in the future? 

I’m at an exciting stage of my business as I have a range of different projects and activities coming up. For the future, I see myself reflecting on these and learning from them, developing my business practically and in terms of values and my own way of working.

What misconceptions did you have about starting your own business? 

 That there would be a right order to doing things. I find a lot of the tasks to starting up a business don’t have a clear and logical order to them so it can be hard to decide what to invest your time (or even money) in first or what to focus on next. But it’s definitely better to pick something and do it, rather than worrying about the right way to do things. If done is better than perfect, something is better than nothing!

What have you learnt about yourself since starting the programme? 

I’ve learned that I am capable of making things happen. I can create opportunities, engagement and projects that wouldn’t exist or be happening if I wasn’t doing this. I started off as a participant on the project I now work for – Reimagine, Remake, Replay – which connects young people to museums through digital and creative methods. The experience and opportunities it offered me were nothing short of amazing.

Through it I found ways of being creative, collaborating with others, supporting my mental health, learning new skills, experimenting, finding my voice & values and using both. So the most exciting thing for me is creating opportunities for others to connect to and thrive off arts, culture and heritage in multiple, meaningful ways.What/who influences/motivates you? 

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far since starting your business? 

Definitely receiving an award from Future Screens NI to run a project responding to the pandemic. My project is called Coming of Age in Covid-19 and it looks specifically at the impact of the pandemic on young people, as they are growing up and experiencing this formative period of their lives in extreme circumstances. They are one of the worst impacted groups in terms of finances and mental health.

We all see in the news how education and apprenticeships have been chaotically disrupted. I think many people find solace in hoping for a ‘return to normality’ and to what their lives were like before. Unlike the generation prior to them, young people don’t have a perception of ‘normal adulthood’ before the pandemic to refer back to and it’s clear that what is happening to them now will impact them for years to come.

 The project aims to represent the impact of the pandemic on this generation and so I am recruiting a group of young creatives to participate in discussions and share experiences. They will each submit a creative response, in a medium of their choice, to an online exhibition and be paid for their work. This exhibition will be a form of contemporary collecting that captures this future history in co-creation with young people, as participants will shape the curation of the exhibition and therefore their experiences will be authentically represented.

What have you learnt about your business in the last 3 months? 

I’ve learned the processes that help me in my business – practical things like online project management tools or bookkeeping software and even just using a diary. I also feel the importance now of tasks we completed early on in Dig Deep, like setting out our personal and business values. Most of all I’ve learned that I have a lot to learn and that I need time to reflect on what is working for me and how I can evolve and change.

What things are you going to implement in your business in 2021? 

I’m going to be focusing on my Future Screens NI funded project, Coming of Age in Covid-19, both delivering a high-quality experience for participants and showcasing the outcomes that they create in an online exhibition. I will also share my process by developing a website, where I plan to have written blogs.

What advice would you give your younger self? 

Not to worry so much! I used to worry a lot about what job I’d do after university, as I really wanted to study English but I’d no clue about what I’d do after. I was looking at lots of different courses but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t choose English and I knew I was going to – so what was the use in worrying? I just did what I enjoyed, trusted my gut and worked hard – it’s served me well so far.

Where can people find you online?

Hopefully, there’ll be a website soon but for now, you can follow me at:
Twitter @NiamhKelly421

 Coming of Age in Covid-19

Instagram: comingofageincovid19

Twitter: @OfAgeinCovid1