#FollowConnectionsArtCentre
Miriam Spollen is our #follow this week, one of our amazing women on our SheGenerate programme and the founder of Connections Arts Centre. Connections provides easily accessible Arts, Lifestyle and Training programmes where the wider Disability Community can learn, grow and connect through the Arts. All their programmes are uniquely designed and led based on the needs of the Disability Community. Part of their mission is to support Creatives in the disability to develop their skills and share their experiences with others and their online gallery and shop champion and supports this.
Their new mentoring programmes to support Creatives to take a step closer to a place where they can gain meaningful employment at a level that is appropriate to their skills set. Enabling them to become active members of their Community.
To get us started - how would you describe yourself in 6 words or less?
Social Entrepreneur, Founder, and Disability Advocate.
What prompted you to start your business?
13.5% of people in Ireland live with a disability. People with disabilities often struggle to attend community based programmes due to access, facilities, and a lack of inclusive programmes designed to suit their needs. Isolation and loneliness are the reality for a high percentage of this community, Connections Arts Centre is an award-winning, not-for-profit Social Enterprise that aims to address this shortcoming. Our mission is to harness the benefits of the Arts to empower members of the Disability Community. Our key objective is to work collaboratively with organisations that support and connect the Disability Community.
Tell us a little bit more about you?
I started my career as a Designer, I had a bridal shop on Wicklow St in Dublin for over 10 years. We opened our shop with just 10 dresses on the rail, and developed the brand nationally. We then manufactured an “off the rail” label in Hong Kong which we sold throughout Ireland and the UK. Kids came along, and I took a career break. I returned to college to study Community Arts and started working as an Arts Facilitator in the Disability Sector. Years later, I was completing a Post Grad in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship at Trinity when Covid kicked-in. I pivoted my business idea for a physical Arts Centre and created ConnectionsArtsCentre.ie
Fill us in on your female founder journey.
This is a very new business that developed as a reaction to wanting to support people I worked with during Covid. The experience has been amazing, with highs and lows. I have never worked so hard in my life, but I have never been happier doing in what I am doing. The highs include seeing our website go live in April 2021. Since our launch, we have collaborated with Disability Organisations such as Dublin South City Partnership, Enable, Spina Bifida, and Down Syndrome Dublin to create and deliver bespoke programmes, based on the needs of their Service Users. We have supported over 350 members of this community from all over Ireland both online and in person.
Another high, working with an amazing team of volunteers, I never realised we had such a strong Volunteering Community in Ireland. A high and low point of my journey was securing a premises to start in-person programmes in November and having to postpone most programmes due to rising Covid numbers. But this has provided me with an opportunity to step back, to engage with customers, and see what is working and what is not. We are taking the opportunity to run pilot programmes. My main learning is to be prepared, to adapt and pivot when necessary, take all the help you can get wherever you can get it as it can be a lonely journey as a founder of any new venture. Enjoy the journey 😊
How did you hear about AwakenHub and what prompted you to apply for SheGenerate?
What are you hoping to get out of the SheGenerate process?
Peer support and new contacts. A new network.
What does success look like to you - in 12 months and in 5 years?
We are testing our Learning through Creativity programme this March, success will be to have this programme running in 4 other Dublin venues before the end of the year, and to be putting plans in place to roll it out nationally. We will continue to design bespoke programmes for individual organisations, and build our customer base. We will be running a selection of public classes in Rathgar. Our Supporting Creatives programmes will be up and running, and we will be hosting our Connecting Artist programme for the second year. Connections Arts Centre will become a national recognisable brand at the forefront of supporting the Disability Community through the Arts.
As a founder - what are your non-negotiables?
Integrity, Respect, Social Conscious, and Emotional Intelligence
SheGenerate is only a small part of AwakenHub - now that you have the community's attention - what can we/they do for you?
Right now, one of our main actions is to build awareness for what we are doing. We have a few exciting projects that are coming up. We want to engage people from all over the country in these projects. We recently launched our open call for our Connecting Artist 2022 programme. We are looking for 10 Artists from all over Ireland who live with intellectual disabilities participate in an exhibition in the RCSI. We are putting a new mentoring programme together, Supporting Creatives. This programme will support creatives who wish to take a step closer to a place where they can gain meaningful employment at a level that is appropriate to their skills set. Enabling them to become active members of their community. We will shortly be putting a call-out for Creative and Mentors for this programme. Please follow us on our socials below and help us to increase our reach and build awareness by sharing our posts.
#FollowConnectionsArtCentre
Connections Arts Centre - connecting the Disability community through the Arts
Insta: @connectionsartscentre
LInked In: Connections Arts Centre
