On 1st February, Independent Arts’ Youth Group, Arts Lab, proudly unveiled their latest project, the Save Our Future mural, now on display at Skates on Newport Quay. This striking artwork is a testament to the creativity, commitment, and environmental consciousness of the young artists. A Bold and Thoughtful Design The mural’s design is both graphic and evocative, using a deliberately limited colour palette to capture the many shades of the sea while enhancing its visual impact. The mural juxtaposes the ideal of a pristine, healthy ocean with a depiction of a polluted environment, highlighting the devastating effects of plastic pollution on marine life. A key feature is the innovative wire fish sculptures—powerful symbols of the waste that plagues our oceans. Crafted during dedicated wirework sessions, these sculptures contrast sharply with the vibrant, healthy ocean scene, reinforcing the urgent need to protect our environment. Inspiration and Creative Process Named by the young artists themselves, Save Our Future represents their passion for environmental change. The project began with brainstorming sessions and mind maps, where the group chose to champion the cause of cleaner oceans. After exploring murals across Newport and voting on their mural’s form, they decided on a painting/sculpture hybrid. Their sketches were digitised, projected onto plywood for scaling, and developed into a cohesive colour scheme. The group also experimented with sculptures made from donated beach waste, inspired by the giant wire fish waste bin on Brighton Beach. Voices from the Community Evie Clarke, who runs the Arts Lab project, shared her enthusiasm: "We’ve had such a fantastic time making our mural, and we’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received throughout. I’ve seen such a positive change in our brilliant young people during this project. It’s been wonderful to hear what they care about and to see them take responsibility for making a difference for all of our futures. They have shown great teamwork, creativity, and dedication! I am so proud to have been part of this project and to see the mural come to life. I’d also like to thank our amazing volunteer, Bella Cuoghi-Smith, who has been a fantastic support, a friendly face, and a listening ear to our group." Richard Quigley MP also praised the initiative, stating: "Well done to Independent Arts’ youth group Arts Lab on their fantastic new mural… Projects like this make such a difference and bring communities together." About Arts Lab and Future Projects. Arts Lab is a creative experimentation group for young people aged 11–16, exploring youth-led social action through art. In addition to their annual exhibition and community projects—including contributions to local events like the carnival—Arts Lab is now working towards their next exhibition in May 2025. Continuing the Save Our Future theme, this exhibition will address issues such as homelessness, wildlife preservation, endangered species, and challenges posed by social media and cyberbullying. Sessions run every Thursday from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at Independent Arts’ Creative Hub, including during school holidays. Young people interested in joining can contact [email protected]. Independent

We're excited to announce that our new Spring What's On Guide is ready and waiting for you! Brimming with an inspiring lineup of creative sessions for all, this guide is your passport to a season of artistic wellbeing on the Isle of Wight. You can collect your copy at the Creative Hub or from various local spots across the Island. Since not everyone is online, we’d love your help in getting the word out: If you have a workplace, community space, or any venue where our guide can be displayed, please consider helping us share it. Interested in collecting a few copies from the Creative Hub and distributing them to places where they can be seen? Your support would be invaluable! If you’re keen to help or need more details, please get in touch with us. Together, we can make this spring a season of creativity and connection. Thank you for being a vital part of our community! *Edit 27/04/25 We’ve spotted a small error in our What’s On guide—please note that East Cowes SingAbout takes place on Thursdays from 2–4pm, and SingAbout Lake is on Fridays from 10:30am–12:20pm. Apologies for any confusion, and we look forward to welcoming you!

Discovering Landscapes a new project from National Landscapes with Independent Arts - The Isle of Wight National Landscape is for everyone to visit, enjoy and take care of. The project Discovering Landscapes will open up routes for Isle of Wight residents to begin a journey of Nature Connection and develop a relationship with the landscape. The project will focus on those who have previously faced barriers in accessing the landscape. Independent Arts are delighted to have been invited by National Landscapes to join the project as one of three delivery partners and have devised Earth Star as their creative response to the aims set down by National Landscapes to increase nature connectedness for Island residents. Programmes Manager Kerry Tindall explains:  ‘Earth Star is offered as part of this exciting National Landscapes project to ten home educating families and fifteen home educated children on the Isle of Wight. Our programme opened in early January, and in the weeks running up to our first trip out into the landscape at Carisbrooke our group have been exploring wayfinding. The idea of wayfinding is so interesting both personally, literally and educationally, and has given us great opportunities to wrap geography and ethnology and human experience into our creative planning.  During these chilly, icy January weeks we have been looking at the life and work of 19C. Newport born, artic explorer Edgar Greenshield who spent many years living with the Inuit people of the artic and sub-artic regions.  These people crossed the great polar ice fields by studying the sastrugi (repeating patterns of sculpted ridges in the snow formed by prevailing winds). It has been a lot of fun learning together with our group about this process of navigation following directional winds, and comparing how we move through and experience our landscapes and surroundings today, when we have so many digital and gps aids to do the job for us! We’ve had some great table discussions, and the group have made their own way maps with some surprising and very personal way marks. It will be interesting to see how they begin to choose their own way marks from the areas of the landscape we will be visiting over the next six months. In these early workshops we have also been recreating sastrugi patterns using spray paints and folded papers with some really striking results!’ The project will run for seven months with Independent Arts, and there are plans for several visits out into the landscape with home educating families.

Our Autumn "What’s On" Guide is here, packed with creative activities, workshops, and events running throughout the season at Independent Arts! You can pick up a copy at our Creative Hub in Newport or find it at locations across the Isle of Wight. Drop by the Creative Hub to grab a copy of the Autumn guide, filled with activities for all ages. Whether you’re interested in joining yourself, bringing friends, or finding something fun for the family, this guide has it all. We know some people may not have easy online access, so we’d love your help reaching them! If you know someone who might benefit from our sessions, please share a guide with them. If you can display a few guides at your workplace, community centre, or other local spaces, it would be a huge support in helping us reach as many people as possible with these creative opportunities. If you’d like to help distribute the "What’s On" Guide or need extra copies, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Your involvement makes a real impact in connecting the Island with enriching and accessible arts activities. A huge thank you to everyone who helps share our guide and promote the arts within our community. We’re looking forward to a fantastic autumn season full of creativity, connection, and inspiration. For more information or to get involved, please contact us.

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.