We're thrilled to announce the release of our "What's On" Guide for this summer at Independent Arts! Packed with information about our exciting activities and events, the guide is now available at the Creative Hub and various locations across the Isle of Wight. Pick Up a Guide We invite you to drop by the Creative Hub to pick up your copy of the "What's On" Guide. Whether you're looking for engaging activities for yourself, your family, or your friends, our guide is your go-to resource for all things creative this summer. Help Us Spread the Word We understand that not everyone has easy access to online resources, and we need your help to reach those who could benefit from our sessions. If you know someone who might be interested, please share a guide with them. Additionally, if you're able to display some of our guides at your workplace, community centre, or any other local venue, we'd greatly appreciate your support. Your efforts in spreading the word make a significant impact in connecting people with our creative offerings. Get in Touch If you're interested in helping us distribute the "What's On" Guide or need more copies for your premises, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Your involvement helps us reach more people and ensures everyone has the opportunity to participate in our wonderful activities. Thank You for Your Support Thank you for your continued support in promoting the arts within our community. Together, we can make this summer a memorable one filled with creativity and connection. For more information and to get involved, contact us.

Independent Arts, the creative health charity for the Isle of Wight have been awarded three years grant funding from Reaching Communities. The grant will secure the future of the Creative Hub at 48/49 High Street, Newport, where more than 100 vulnerable residents of all ages enjoy a wide range of arts-based activities six days a week. Independent Arts pioneered the use of arts-based activities to support all kinds of health problems more than 35 years ago. Nowadays, especially since the Covid pandemic, the benefits of such activities in helping people to connect and express themselves is widely understood by health professionals and artists alike. Chief Executive Lisa Gagliani MBE said, “This funding couldn’t have come at a more crucial time when more people than ever need access to a safe place to talk, to craft or make music with each other and make connections. Loneliness is a huge problem across the Island for so many, across all ages, so we’re delighted to be able to stay open, including Saturdays from March.” The grant can only be spent on activities at the Creative Hub, leaving the charity stillwith lots of fundraising to do for all the SingAbout sessions around the island, the schools-based sessions that help children to learn skills for life and to provide lots of sessions to help residents with advanced dementia in residential care homes. For the Creative Hub, the grant will fund an Operations Manager, a Programme Support Officer and several of the sessions that are offered throughout the week, led by local artist practitioners who are paid on agreed freelance rates. These sessions include Creative Café on Mondays, Make and Create on Tuesdays, Wellbeing Café on Thursday and Chess Craft on Saturdays. Since being awarded the grant, the charity has recruited the team to continue the support to the local community: Hub Operations Manager - Ralph Ridler has been appointed to this role with immediate effect. Ralph joined Independent Arts in 2020 as Community Fundraiser, where he has secured the support of several businesses, wrote local successful grant applications, ran matched funding campaigns and delivered on events such as Wight Proms, Ventnor Fringe and Cowes Fringe. Programme Support Officer - Ali Atkinson joined in June last year as a Hub Coordinator. She now steps up her role to three days a week – to ensure that the impact the charity makes is properly recorded and shared. Also secured partially by the Reaching Communities grant together with another grant from SNG, is the part time role continuation position of Creative Project Assistant for Evie Clarke, who joined the charity in the autumn thanks to the Breakthrough scheme via Artswork. This means that Evie will be staying on with extra responsibility for the new Arts Lab project that will enable up to 15 young people to become arts for wellbeing champions. Due to Ralph's change in direction, appointed Matt Hitt has been appointed as Community Development Manager, who will be joining mid-March. Matt has a strong arts

Barton Primary School students, under the guidance of Independent Arts, enthusiastically participated in the Poetry Together campaign, producing work that has been recognised as one of the winning entries. Their exceptional contribution secured a prestigious £250 book voucher for the school. Poetry Together, championed by acclaimed author, broadcaster, and poetry enthusiast Giles Brandreth, along with the late Queen, has been a beacon for literary expression and intergenerational connections. Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, an avid supporter of literacy, emphasises the importance of literacy projects and activities for older individuals this year actively participated in a Poetry Together Tea Party, joining primary and secondary schools, care homes, and intergenerational clubs. During the event, she recited the opening lines from 'Matilda' by Hilaire Belloc alongside local children from Knightsbridge School. The campaign garnered over 400 entries, with 14 outstanding contributions receiving recognition, including Barton Primary School. For a complete list of winners, please visit Poetry Together Winners Page. As part of the campaign, children under 18 and those aged 70 and above were invited to write a poem based on a theme, at most 14 lines. Residents from Newport Residential Care Home drew inspiration from Rockey, the cat, and a beautiful blue bird. Barton School's poems were centred around themes of Happiness and Nature, with the children incorporating expressive gestures and actions into their performances. Lynne Rose, Manager at Newport Residential, expressed her delight on winning the National Poetry event, extending gratitude for the collaborative effort with Barton Primary School. Independent Arts Practitioner Glenn Koppany shared, "Fantastic news about the prize!! They were really interesting sessions to do, and we had some good discussions. One of the participants, who came every week, would write a few lines for each session, but at the end, he would always rub them out, and he would often cry when I asked him about what he wrote. But by the end, we had a really nice little poem. Well done to Kerry for the great video; please pass on my thanks." Independent Arts extends sincere thanks to the pupils and staff of Barton Primary School and the staff and residents of Newport Residential Care Home along with our Practitioner Glenn Koppany for their invaluable contributions to this poetic celebration. Special recognition goes to Nicola Ward and Kerry Tindall for their leadership and dedication in guiding this project on behalf of Independent Arts.