Fourth Portal
January 2020 - Ongoing
John McKiernan
Creating hybrid portal spaces imagining life in the Fourth Industrial Revolution using art interventionist methods to bring creative practice, technology and entrepreneurship under one roof. This ongoing programme greatly impacted by Covid-19 pandemic.
About
Fourth Portal transforms traditional and derelict shops, pubs and public places* into activity and co-working spaces for entrepreneurs, start-ups and creative business people providing relaxed surroundings, ambient atmosphere in an imaginative setting with a range of services, products, events and exhibitions focused on new and future technology.
How ideas become reality | A personal journey
Fourth Portal is the brainchild of founder, John McKiernan (history here) who is fascinated by how ideas form and become reality, whether it's a business, technology or a work of art. This fascination is coupled with a frustration with an education system that seeks to systemise the process of bringing an idea to fruition by focusing on acronyms, models and flowcharts. Modelling is fine for iteration, making slight change to a product or service, however there is limited value when deciding whether to develop an original idea and make it reality.
Haphazard Business | How ideas become reality
John once had a small chain of coffee bars in South London and was always intrigued by the number of ideas and schemes customers were trying to develop, whether a business start-up, researching for an academic qualification or creating a work of art. The joy, pain and reality in the processes of all these personal journeys shared certain traits: the inconsistency of everyday life, overcoming scepticism of peers, energy to carry through on an idea and of course the stark reality that some ideas are just not very good.
Emergence of Fourth Portal | A road trip
Fourth Portal itself has been an idea floating around in John's head for more than a decade, an idea that would capture peoples' imagination briefly only to fade as it could not be explained simply; making financial support difficult to obtain. So in early 2019, John set off on a self-funded Haphazard Business road trip (as a representation of the journey of discovery) to blog about the process of developing his idea of establishing an innovation hub. Haphazard Business became the name of the blog documenting his travels, emphasising how an original idea pivots as comments, circumstance and other haphazard factors feeds in and alters progress.
Meeting of Minds | Coincidence, synchronicity or luck
During his haphazard journey, John attended many events, exhibitions and locations, allowing himself to drift with the flow rather than dictate or seek an outcome. This took him to many interesting places, discover numerous insights and meet some fascinating people, including Gillian Harwood, who would lead the project to Great Yarmouth, a down-at-heel Norfolk coastal town.
Great Yarmouth | Gillian Harwood's story
Gillian Harwood has been a successful entrepreneur for more than 40 years, and owns a number of small business work hubs, the largest of which is Busworks, in London's King's Cross (read more here). Gillian fell in love with Great Yarmouth following a visit to the permanent Hippodrome Circus in 2017. Seeing the town was in steep decline, and lined with beautiful period architecture, Gillian decided to try and help kick off a change in fortunes by investing in some run down buildings and returning them to the splendour they once enjoyed.
Meeting of Minds | Fourth Portal
Gillian Harwood has been a successful entrepreneur for more than 40 years, and owns a number of small business work hubs, the largest of which is Busworks, in London's King's Cross (read more here). Gillian fell in love with Great Yarmouth following a visit to the permanent Hippodrome Circus in 2017. Seeing the town was in steep decline, and lined with beautiful period architecture, Gillian decided to try and help kick off a change in fortunes by investing in some run down buildings and returning them to the splendour they once enjoyed.
Covid-19 | A Haphazard Response
With the doors to Portal B just ajar for the first customers, the UK government ordered a lockdown to counter the rapidly spreading Covid virus, requiring all non-essential businesses to close. Across the world personal and commercial business went into a tailspin as governments responded in a haphazard fashion. Just as John set out on a haphazard business journey one year ago, now the rest of the world seems have decided to join him...