Can You Hear Us?

Creative Island, the Cultural Development Agency for the Isle of

Wight, is delighted to announce the programme for CAN YOU

HEAR US? a six-week Island-wide celebration of creativity and culture, supported by Arts Council

England’s Place Partnership Fund and taking place between 11th September and 24th October

2026.

Featuring film, craft, public art, music, theatre, nature connection, shared meals and carnival, CAN

YOU HEAR US? will celebrate local artists, schools and communities, encouraging everyone to get

involved while amplifying the story of Island culture to the wider world.

From Shademakers’ Ship of Hope promenade carnival in Ryde to the travelling Ventnor Exchange

Arena bringing together circus, theatre, and youth-led festivals to Sandown and Newport, to

Somewhen Survival Society - a touring village-hall event combining performance, storytelling and a

communal feast, CAN YOU HEAR US? involves 17 partner organisations and brings together many

artists, makers, creative and cultural practitioners and community participants from across the

Island.

Gavin Stride, Director of Creative Island expresses:

“This is an opportunity to celebrate all that the Island is. To delight in all the ways that

the people of the Island express who they are and to recognise the talent and energy

of people in every part of our communities.

”

A key ambition for CAN YOU HEAR US? is a deep commitment to both the Island’s next generation

of cultural leaders and the vibrant spirit of local communities. Today, Creative Island are pleased to

also announce that twelve participants have been awarded a place on the Cultural Leadership

Programme, and they will receive dedicated support to shape a more confident, resourceful, and

relevant future for the Isle of Wight’s cultural scene.

Additionally, through a partnership with Creative Lives, the Micro-grants Programme is funding 26

activities across a variety of artforms during and in the lead up to CAN YOU HEAR US?’s Autumn

celebration.

With the Island’s young people at the heart of the programme, CAN YOU HEAR US? will provide

multiple opportunities for young people to participate and to develop skills. There will also be an

Island-wide schools programme, delivered in partnership with the Isle of Wight Cultural Education

Partnership and Artswork’s Listen Up! Further information will be announced shortly.Nia Collins, Strategic Planning & Programme Manager of Southampton & IW Music Hub shares:

“Music has a unique way of capturing the spirit of a place and the stories of the

people who live there. Through Songs of Place, young people and communities will

turn their experiences of Island life into new music and soundscapes, creating

something that celebrates where they are from and ensures their voices are heard far

beyond the shoreline”

Phil Gibby, Area Director, Arts Council England South West, adds:

“We’re delighted to support Creative Island’s CAN YOU HEAR US? Programme with

£402,000 from our Place Partnership Fund. The momentum behind culture on the Isle of

Wight has never been stronger. From Shademakers’ carnival leadership to the regenerated

Department building in Ryde, and the touring big-top Ventnor Exchange Arena,

organisations across the Island are expanding access to creativity for all.

“It’s powerful to see artists, schools and communities come together around a shared love of

their home. By focusing on children and young people, developing new cultural leaders, and

supporting grassroots projects, the cultural sector is shaping a collaborative vision that feels

distinctly its own. We applaud everyone whose hard work and imagination have made this

ambitious new future possible.

”

CAN YOU HEAR US? Full Programme Details

Artswork | Listen Up empowers care-experienced and underserved young people to share the

stories that matter to them through filmmaking and a youth-led touring film festival. Working with

professional filmmakers, participants develop creative and technical skills, mentor peers, and take

the lead in producing a festival celebrating youth voices across the Isle of Wight.

Brevity is a six-times-yearly literary zine showcasing Island short fiction. For CAN YOU HEAR US?,

three risograph-printed issues will feature submissions and carnival-inspired stories, created with

local writers and organisations.Boojum&Snark | Isle of Wight Tarot is a new 24-card deck created for CAN YOU HEAR US?,

inspired by the Isle of Wight’s culture, nature and folklore, and modelled on the Sandown Tarot.

Each card will have an illustration by Tommy Brentnall with a short piece of flash fiction by Anmarie

Bowler, inviting people to imagine possible futures for the Island.

Creative Lives | More information on the micro-grants programme can be found below.

Department | This Way Up is a month-long takeover of Department in Ryde, led by young people

who will shape the venue’s full Autumn 2026 programme, choosing the performances, events,

workshops, classes and exhibitions that take place across the venue. Working together as curators

and producers, they will create a programme that reflects their interests, ideas and creative

ambitions.

Isle of Wight National Landscape & Creative Island | Landed brings artists and communities

together to explore the Island’s landscapes through creativity. Artists Trudie Wilson, Laura Hathaway

and Hector MacInnes are creating new work inspired by places including Appuldurcombe House,

Compton Bay and St Catherine’s Oratory. Their projects will respond to the natural and historic

landscape while involving local people and young people in the process.

Independent Arts | SEED celebrates everyday creativity across Independent Arts’ groups and care

homes, exploring wellbeing, identity and community through guided workshops and collaborative

artmaking. Participants will create work across multiple artforms, including ceramic seed pods,

culminating in public sharing events during CAN YOU HEAR US? that showcase the Island’s diverse

creative voices.

It Takes the Village is an exhibition by Philip Crewe and Tom Howells exploring vernacular creativity

in Brighstone, a rural Isle of Wight community. Through handmade objects, personal stories and

locally rooted making, the exhibition looks at how creativity grows from the skills, time and materials

people have around them.

Quay Arts | Acting Up features a showcase of early-career Island performers supported by the

Mike Howley Trust, alongside a new theatre commission from Deadman exploring Newport Quay’s

history (1870–1900). The programme includes live performances and two site-specific shows.

Shademakers UK | Ship of Hope is a large-scale interactive promenade carnival in Ryde, featuring

250 community performers. Audiences help guide a ship through stormy seas to safety, combining

Shademakers’ signature costumes with music, dance and soundscapes. Developed with local

groups and international partners.

Southampton & IW Music Hub | Songs of Place empowers young people and communities to

create new music inspired by Island life through workshops, collaborations and environmental

soundscapes. Reaching over 2,000 young people across the Island and mainland southern-based

schools, the project will lead to a new commission, a digital Island soundtrack, and a major

performance showcasing emerging talent, schools and community musicians.

StoneCrabs Theatre | Stories Underfoot is a series of performed walks exploring the Isle of

Wight’s hidden LGBTQ+ history. Blending heritage and theatre, the walks reveal stories linked to

Virginia Woolf, Charlotte Mew, Oscar Wilde and Charles Swinburne, created with artists and

communities. Presented during the 2026 Walking Festival, they invite audiences to explore and

connect with Island heritage.The Cultural Leadership Programme | More information can be found below.

The New Carnival Company | Island Folk is a project exploring the Isle of Wight’s folk heritage

through its seasons, traditions, myths, legends and local stories. Working with Isle of Wight College

students, schools, families, writers and artists, the project invites young people to research Island

folklore and reimagine it through creative practice, connecting heritage with themes like the

biosphere, climate change and equality.

Somewhen Survival Society | Big Ideas for Small Places will bring people together in village

halls around the Harvest Moon, to share foraged and Island-grown food, alongside storytelling, song

and performance. Rooted in local produce, folklore and place, it’s a chance for communities to come

together, share stories and celebrate the flavours and traditions of the Island.

Vectis Radio and its team of volunteers are helping to bring the stories and voices of CAN YOU

HEAR US? to life across the Island. Through a series of interviews, recordings, and live broadcasts,

the station provides a community-led platform for audiences to hear directly from the artists,

organisations, and local groups involved in the programme.

Ventnor Exchange will launch the Ventnor Exchange Arena, a traveling venue that will travel to

Sandown and Newport. Each location-stay will become the centre of a pop-up festival village, with a

programme shaped together with local people featuring circus, theatre, music, local events and a

Brave Island youth-led festival, bookended by large participatory ceremonies retelling the Island’s

history.

—

CAN YOU HEAR US? Cultural Leadership Programme

This programme supports 12 emerging leaders to shape the Isle of Wight’s cultural future. From

March to October 2026, participants will engage in coaching, guest speakers, project visits, and

mentoring. Further information on the participants and their organisations will be announced shortly.

—

CAN YOU HEAR US? Micro-grants Programme

Delivered in partnership with Creative Lives, this programme provides grants of £500–£1,000 to

Island-based community groups for creative projects between March and October 2026. Supporting

participation, collaboration, and inclusion, grants fund materials, space, or events, encouraging

engagement, addressing loneliness, and helping groups explore new creative ambitions. Grants

have been awarded to:

Appleblossoms: A monthly creative session for women affected by breast cancer, offering activities

such as card-making, needle felting, embroidery and miniature crafts. The workshops will provide a

welcoming space for creativity, connection and peer support.

Applegate Breast Cancer Support Group: Working with a local ceramic artist, the group will

create a collaborative artwork representing their shared experiences. The finished piece will be

gifted to the new Isle of Wight Breast Unit opening in 2026.Appley Day Clay Collaboration: Two participatory clay workshops at Appley Day, inviting the

public to create temporary land art using recycled porcelain and clay flowers. Participants will

collectively transform the park landscape through accessible and playful sculptural making.

Brading Community Partnership: Young people from Brading will design costumes and flags, and

create choreography to take part in the Ryde Mardi Gras parade, gaining creative skills and

confidence while experiencing a vibrant community celebration many would not otherwise access.

Brading Roman Villa: Three artist-led workshops exploring memory, identity and legacy through

creative practices such as journaling, collage and clay. Participants will respond to Roman artefacts

from the museum collection, culminating in a public exhibition and short film.

Classic Boat Museum, Boatyard Tapestry: Community members will collaboratively create a large

tapestry using sailcloth to tell the story of Cowes’ boatbuilding heritage. Workshops with volunteers,

schools and local groups will combine textile-making with local history.

Creative Arts Group, HMP Isle of Wight: A weekly creative arts group for prisoners developing

confidence, communication and teamwork through performance. Participants will work towards

public-facing productions, including festivals and a Christmas show within the prison community.

Electronic Music Open Mic IoW: Free open-mic nights for electronic musicians, DJs and

producers to share work, collaborate and receive feedback. The events will build a supportive local

network and encourage creative experimentation within the Isle of Wight electronic music scene.

Friends of Monkton Arts, Ryde Gypsy Jazz Festival: Free street performances and a public

workshop introducing the techniques of Gypsy jazz during Ryde’s festival. The project aims to widen

access to this underrepresented genre and strengthen the Island’s growing jazz community.

Grow Gurnard CIC: A series of practical workshops exploring traditional willow crafts, including

planting, hurdle-making, and weaving a living willow structure. Participants will help create functional

features and gathering spaces within the community growing site.

Gurnard Community Calendar Group: Reviving Gurnard’s May Day celebrations with a craft fair,

demonstrations, and hands-on sessions showcasing traditional skills and sustainable agriculture.

The event will bring families together and highlight training pathways for young people.

Havenstreet Community Association, Tree of Life Project: Free workshops where residents

create decorative glass and pottery pieces for a collaborative ‘Tree of Life’ artwork in the community

garden, strengthening local pride while enhancing a shared outdoor space.

In Focus Education and Development: Four photography workshops for young people across the

Isle of Wight, exploring personal stories through the Photovoice approach. Participants will learn

photography skills and co-curate exhibition prints showcasing their perspectives.

Island CraftWorks, Ryde Flower Trail: Inclusive craft workshops creating sustainable paper

flowers for a public trail displayed in shops and community spaces across Ryde. The project

encourages creativity, collaboration and increased footfall for local businesses.

Isle of Wight Indonesian Community: Community dance and costume-making workshops

celebrating Indonesian culture, while preparing participants to join the Isle of Wight Mardi Gras

parade. The project promotes cultural exchange and community integration.Isle of Wight Rare Breeds CIC: Hands-on felting workshops using fleece from the farm’s own

sheep. Participants will learn to process, dye, and transform raw wool into creative objects while

connecting with farming heritage.

Isle of Wight Young Farmers’ Club: Members will collaborate on designing and painting a mural

celebrating the Island’s landscapes, agriculture and wildlife. Workshops will explore environmental

themes while strengthening community identity.

John Cattle’s Skate Club CIC: Skaters across the Island will contribute footage to a collaborative

short film documenting the local skateboarding scene. Workshops and meet-ups will support young

people to develop mobile filming skills and share their stories.

Nature Therapy CIC, Artful Drumming Café: Silent disco equipment will enable inclusive

movement, music and wellbeing sessions in community venues, care homes and outdoor spaces.

Participants can control their own sound levels, supporting accessibility for people with sensory

needs.

Sounds + Grounds Youthfest: A three-night youth music micro-festival in Cowes, offering young

performers the chance to play short live sets. Free for audiences and participants, the event will

support emerging musicians and energise the local music scene.

The Common Space CLG, Sandown Bay CoCreate Workshops: Creative workshops exploring

coastal ecology and engineering through art-making. Participants’ work will be installed within local

coastal defence structures, creating a public trail celebrating community creativity and environmental

awareness.

The Port: Weekend creative sessions including DJ skills workshops, sewing and collaborative craft

projects for young people. Participants will create banners and artworks promoting the CAN YOU

HEAR US? programme.

The Ryde Art Collective: A digital arts workshop where young people experiment with film, sound

and live projection using professional software. The project culminates in a collaborative projection

showcase celebrating participants’ creative ideas.

VEX, Ventnor Exchange Spoken Word Collective: Community writing workshops inviting

participants to create poems for a ‘Poetry Pharmacy’ and festival exhibition during Ventnor Fringe.

Work will be shared through posters, recordings and interactive installations.

VIVA Carnival Club: Learning-disabled volunteers will take part in training sessions to help lead

participatory drumming workshops for the wider community. The project will highlight participants’

skills while building confidence and leadership experience.

Wayfinders Education: Intergenerational outdoor creative days where families explore crafts such

as whittling, nature art, and den building. Participants will share a campfire meal while learning

practical skills connected to nature and local heritage.