

about
What is SelfMade?
SelfMade began as a portrait project in 2018, between artist and music enthusiast, Joanna Bain, and musician and label founder, Julie Hawk (HAVVK / Veta Records). Since its launch, it’s grown into a platform to explore DIY music in Ireland through events, discussion, art and performance. With a strong focus on women in music, SelfMade centres around putting artist voices first, opening up about the realities of running a music project and enabling artists to learn from one another’s shared experiences and challenges. “Music can be such a competitive and fickle industry and it’s easy to feel like you have to hold your cards close to your chest. SelfMade offers a safe space to celebrate the hard work being done by artists – the parts of the job that often go uncredited and that can impact detrimentally on their progress and mental health. We aren’t solely a visual project, but portraits have always been an important part of SelfMade – a way to invite people to connect with the musicians we host and to remind everyone that this is about listening to their stories.” SelfMade Mission Statement: Our goal is to celebrate the work of DIY musicians and to create a supportive space to explore the realities of getting a music project or career off the ground by:
- Providing a platform for independent musicians to learn, skill-share, and express their experiences.
- Creating opportunities for networking, community connections, collaboration, and exposure.
- Taking affirmative action to highlight and correct the underrepresentation of women in music.
Become a member at The Black Box
A home for live music, theatre, literature, comedy, film, visual art, science, circus, cabaret and all points in between – The Black Box has been one of Belfast’s most beloved venues since 2006. Our new membership will be launching very soon!
Sign up now!