Town Conversations

Cowes

We're hosting Town Conversations, a series of local conversations bringing local cultural communities together to share challenges, opportunities and ideas.

What Cowes is talking about:

• Belonging across the peninsula. Warm welcomes, clear communication for newcomers, families and young people, and moving beyond "us and them" divides.
• Strengthening connections through volunteering, creative projects and community initiatives. A shared ownership model.
• Repositing Cowes as a creative hub through engaging young people, celebrating local creativity and building inclusive community spaces, with cohesive event planning and grassroots projects that can start now.
• Making better use of local spaces and continuing cross-sector collaboration, including a shared directory of what's happening.

Keep an eye out for future meetings via our socials below.

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West Wight

We're hosting Town Conversations, a series of local conversations bringing local cultural communities together to share challenges, opportunities and ideas.

What West Wight is talking about:

• Celebrating the area's rich mix of creative practice and strengthening connection, visibility and collaboration.
• The need for a shared creative hub, and better use of community spaces.
• Freshwater High Street restoration and regeneration.
• Stronger youth and intergenerational engagement, plus digital inclusion.
• Caring for the natural environment, and supporting wider initiatives across West Wight.

Get involved: West Wight has a dedicated WhatsApp group to keep momentum going, share opportunities and develop ideas together in-between meetings. To join, email your number to info@creativeisland.org and a member of the team will add you.

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The Bays

We're hosting Town Conversations, a series of local conversations bringing local cultural communities together to share challenges, opportunities and ideas.

What The Bays is talking about:

• Sandown as a "workshop for opportunity". A town that understands that when things fall apart, they're making room for something new.
• Changing perceptions of Sandown and the area, and building more collaboration across creative projects.
• Providing accessible, year-round spaces and supporting young people.
• Celebrating existing local assets like Boojum & Snark, Graft Studios, Wight Aviation Museum and Bembridge Fort.

Get involved: The Bays has a dedicated WhatsApp group, which has recently shifted focus to news and highlights around the Sandown Town of Culture bid by keeping everyone in the loop on the bid's progress. There's also the Tide Turners Facebook page for residents and creatives to stay informed and connected.

Keep an eye out for future meetings via our socials below.

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Newport

We're hosting Town Conversations, a series of local conversations bringing local cultural communities together to share challenges, opportunities and ideas.

What Newport is talking about:

• A town that embraces change and opportunity. The consensus from previous sessions was that Newport needs to be surprising, mischievous and ambitious: "Here is what the town is, but here's what it can be."
• Belonging and young people, and stronger collaboration across generations and sectors.
• Building on Newport's creative strengths like Strings, Quay Arts and Independent Arts. With a shared call for greater connection, consistency and investment.
• Championing the town's cultural assets, from theatres and museums to libraries and youth-focused creative spaces.
• All roads lead to Newport. Igniting pride in place as the Island's centre.

Get involved: Newport has a dedicated WhatsApp group to keep momentum going, share opportunities and develop ideas together between meetings. To join, email your number to info@creativeisland.org and a member of the team will add you.

Keep an eye out for future meetings via our socials below.

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Ryde

We're hosting Town Conversations, a series of local conversations bringing local cultural communities together to share challenges, opportunities and ideas.

What Ryde is talking about:

• Strengthening belonging through connection, with neighbours, organisations and shared creative activity like murals, carnivals and community gardens.
• Investing time and resources into quality, not quantity. Avoiding duplicating events where possible, and encouraging collaboration wherever possible.

• Creativity as a way to build confidence, connection and pride of place, especially for young people.
• Better signposting, shared care and accessible spaces.
• An appetite for collaboration across disciplines and bringing new voices into the conversation.

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