How the Isle of Wight is backing their young people
Today is International Youth Day, a day to celebrate young people and the issues that matter to them around the world. You might be wondering what the Isle of Wight is doing for its young people. How are we, a 26-mile-wide piece of land, supporting them and their ambitions? Creative Island, are proud to lead […]
Meet The Team – Gavin Stride
Written by Amy Hall. You may have already met the Creative Island team, or even befriended them. A small but mighty core team of 6. It doesn’t come naturally to us to talk about ourselves, especially when there are so many incredible people doing incredible things across the Island. However, here’s just a small snippet […]
The Cultural Leadership Programme provides protective space to stop, think and reflect
As part of CAN YOU HEAR US?, our six-week celebration of creativity and culture taking place across the Island, we previously announced the cohort of 12 individuals who are taking part in the fully-funded Cultural Leadership Programme. We think it’s time for an update of what they’ve been doing. The programme was designed to give […]
How young people are shaping CAN YOU HEAR US?
At the heart of CAN YOU HEAR US? the Isle of Wight’s six-week celebration, is a simple, powerful question: what happens when we really listen? Songs of Place is an Island-wide music project led by young people, inspired by the sounds, stories and landscapes of the Isle of Wight. Through songwriting, field recordings and making music together, young Islanders […]
The Making of a Meadow
Thank you to Kerry Tindall at Independent Arts for sharing this story with us. As part of CAN YOU HEAR US?, Independent Arts are working with their creative groups using the shared themes of seeds and wildflower meadows as a starting point for creative exploration. Working with Island textile artist Mandy Bangerter, participants from MAP […]
Rebel Business School – Isle of Wight report 2026
Written by Amy Hall. At the beginning of 2026, we invited creative freelancers, makers, artists, performers and early-stage founders, to a free programme of out-of-the box training, with Rebel Business School. Formerly known as Pop Up Business School, Rebel has supported over 45,000 people worldwide since 2012 to start and grow businesses – many of them […]
Isle of Wight Events Compass guiding event planners to positive change
Written by Amy Hall. Creative Island facilitated the creation of the ‘Events Compass’ after attending Oerol, Europe’s largest site-specific arts festival, which takes place on the Island of Terschelling, in the ecologically-sensitive Wadden Sea region of the northern Netherlands. The importance of this area reflects the ecological importance of the Isle of Wight and it […]
13 more heritage stories will come to light through the Past Futures Fund
Creative Island and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) are proud to announce the 13 community organisations selected for the second round of Past Futures today. This heritage fund, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, provides vital investment to celebrate, archive, and share the everyday stories and unique traditions that […]
Young people take centre stage in powerful short films with Listen Up!
Artswork, the charity that empowers children and young people through creativity, has released two powerful short films co-created by young people on the Isle of Wight, working with professional filmmaker Bruce Webb. The films are the first in a series of youth-led films entitled LISTEN UP!, made by Artswork as part of Creative Island’s CAN […]
We’re commissioning an artist for the Island’s smallest art gallery. Could it be you?
Please note that applications for this call-out are now closed. We are inviting artists to submit a short Expression of Interest for an upcoming installation in the Re:Box public art space in Ryde as part of CAN YOU HEAR US?, the six-week celebration of creativity and culture taking place across the Isle of Wight from […]