Past
Creative Island (formally the Island Collection) is a development agency for culture on the Isle of Wight. As an ACE NPO (2023-26), Creative Island is responsible for three key strands of activity; supporting the cultural and heritage sector on the IW and upholding the newly adopted IW Cultural Strategy; managing the IW Cultural Education Partnership (CEP); and managing and delivering the IW Creative Network (IWCN).
The CEP has been the backbone to Creative Island’s development within the sector – creating life-enhancing programmes for young people, such as ‘Lift the Lid on Island Culture’ 2018-20, ‘The Creative Biosphere’ 2021 (which I co-wrote and designed) as well as ‘Supporting Young Minds’ 2022-23. The structure of this partnership is incredibly important and ensures that young people’s creative aspirations and access to cultural opportunities are front and centre of Creative Island’s aims and ambitions.
The third key strand of Creative Island’s current NPO activity is the IW Creative Network – supporting and developing the Island’s creative and cultural workforce. I built this programme in 2021 after a year of R&D, visiting other networks and programmes in England, and surveying and consulting with artists and creatives on the IW to find out what they feel they needed to help sustain their creative practice.
Creative Island has strong role to play in ensuing that these three strands come together to form a cohesive offer for the Island as a leading development agency for culture.
The IW Creative Network is a growing community, supporting Artists, Creatives, and start-ups on the Isle of Wight by building resilience through skills sharing and talent development. Offering business support, training, networking events, away days across the Solent, resources and profiling through an online creative directory. Each year I curate, plan and implement a bespoke development programme for individuals joining the network, aiming to nurture and inspire, allowing creatives to thrive and become more sustainable in their practice.
It began its pilot phase in 2022 with support from the IWC and an ACE Project Grant. It brought together 94 artists, makers and creative professionals on the IW wanting to develop their business and creative skills. In this period, I independently project managed the Network – acting as a facilitator for creatives joining the network, hosting online training programmes, coordinating 121 sessions, networking events, managing and developing content for a new user-led website and social media channels.
As a result of its success, it is now under the umbrella of Creative Island with support from ACE’s NPO (2023-26). In 2023 the network was featured on ACE’s website as part of their national toolkit on how local authorities can better work with and support creative freelancers. The network now features over 150 creative individuals and organisations on the IW and continues to grow.
I am on the steering committee for Visual Arts South West (VASW) which comes under the umbrella of the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) – a national consortium of artists, arts professionals and organisations in England. VASW work together to find new ways to strengthen the visual arts, connect people with each other, and with professionals in other fields around the world, to share information. Current campaigns include Together We Will, Skills Development, The West of England Visual Arts Alliance, and R&D Associate Programmes.
I was awarded an Arts Council England ‘Defining your creative practice grant’ (DYCP) in April 2023. This year-long opportunity has allowed me to time to R&D and evaluate my practice, with mentorship from some key individuals to help me progress, interrogate and challenge my current and future work. It has allowed me time to gain clarity and focus on where to go next in my creative practice, connect with cultural organisations and creative producers, explore the use of collaborative workspaces, and the curatorial potential of large-scale place-making arts festivals that have impact, legacy and wonder and public art commissioning that explore socially engaged practices.
I have been researching the impact of place-based work in other parts of the world and the IW UNESCO Biosphere status and 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals – working out an approach and methodology so that environmental responsibility is integrated to the development of my practice. To gain a better understanding of this I have recently joined the IW Biosphere Steering Committee – an independently formed group that collectively recognises the critical importance of protecting biological and cultural heritage for the generations to come.
