Image above: From POC IOM Culture Festival, August 2021
Black History Month and the Arts: Ways to celebrate and get involved
With Black History Month upon us, we celebrate the contributions, activism, culture, and experience of people of colour both on the island and across the United Kingdom and British Isles through the arts. In this series, we’re bringing to you just some of the many ways you can engage with Black History Month this year, from talks and workshops to exhibitions and showcases many of which you can engage with from your own home. In this article, we're sharing some of our most recent Isle of Man Arts Council funded projects and initiatives.
POC IOM Culture Festival
POC IOM is a platform to highlight the voices of ethnic minority groups on the IOM, and to teach, talk and tackle racism. Welcome to all who want to engage in healthy conversation. This summer (21st Aug 2021), the team organised their very first Culture Festival at The Nunnery in Douglas. The team curated a fun summers day in the gardens of The Nunnery that would be accessible to everyone. With Music and Dj’s from the start, food caterers that reflect the diversity of the Isle of Man, free children’s activities led by established local initiatives and workshops held by Manx led charities, the festival aimed to offer something for everyone.
The Isle of Man Arts Council were proud to offer support in the form of paying the musicians who performed throughout the day and night on the main stage.
Podcast Episode 13: Why Diversity and Representation Matters?
Island Artcast is the Isle of Man Arts Council podcast hosted and produced by Olivia Savage, Arts Graduate Intern. The podcast welcomes creatives from across the island and beyond the waters to share their experiences of working in the creative industries.
Episode 13: Why Diverse Representation Matters ft. POCIOM
What a fun episode this was to record. POCIOM stands for People of Colour Isle of Man and in this ep, I sat down with members Elsa and Haafizah to discuss racism on the Isle of Man and particularly, the importance of accepting, respecting and representing different cultures within the workplace. From their own experiences growing up on the Isle of Man to inherent biases, to what the workplace could do to encourage diverse representation. What are you waiting for?!
Listen to the episode by searching "Island Artcast" on your preferred podcast platform.
National Theatre Connections 2021
The Youth Arts Centre have taken part in National Theatre Connections for many years and this year the team production of 'Wind / Rush Generation(s)' written by Dr. Mojisola Adebayo. It was directed Shawn Sturnick with fifteen young actors, ages 14-18, from three island high schools and the University College.
The play was about the British Isles, its colonial past and its impact on the present. Set in a senior common room, in a prominent university, a group of 1st year undergraduates are troubled, not by the weight of their workload, but by a ‘noisy’ ghost.
Dr. Mojisola Adebayo said: "The whole team did an absolutely fantastic job with what I realise is a very challenging script. The sense of collaboration, playfulness, generosity of spirit, care, passion, compassion and emotion, the sensitivity, precision, depth and focus blew me away. What a tour de force!"
Losing Grace Film
Losing Grace is a drama thriller which shines a light on the real victims of domestic abuse.
The short film tells the story of 15 year old Grace, who with her mother, Louise, is forced to flee from an abusive father and husband. Their refuge is short-lived when they are unwittingly tracked down, with dire consequences.
We are thrilled to have the support of the Arts Council. We are passionate about this project and are telling a story that needs to be heard. We are also really blown away by the backing we have received from people and organisations across the island and around the world on social media; many who have been affected by domestic abuse themselves and have a story to tell.
Producer, Aradhna Tayal
We are committed to working with a 100% female crew on Losing Grace. Our industry is notoriously undiverse and we are passionate about the need to recruit more people from underrepresented parts of society in order to truly reflect the society we live in. This means more women, including in senior and technical roles as well as on screen, more people from ethnic minority backgrounds, more talent from outside of the main production hubs like London and more people who have had untraditional routes into the industry.
Aradhna Tayal Producer Of Losing Grace
I make films because I believe in their power to influence people and inspire change. It's important to me to tell those stories that are ignored and hear those voices that are marginalised. Losing Grace is that story and Grace and Louise are those lost voices. I'm especially proud to work with an all female team on this film, regaining power for those who are underrepresented in our industry.
Aradhna Tayal Producer Of Losing Grace
Student Awards
Since 2019, the Isle of Man Arts Council has granted three annual awards to students studying within the arts on and off island. As we embark on our third year (with applications now open until 25th June 2021), we caught up with two of our recipients Sarojalily Ratnavel and Kipenzi Thomas and how their award has made a difference to them.
"Over the past two years I have been studying Fashion Design and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan. The costs of studying a courses within the creative industries can be quite financially taxing, especially coming from a low income family. I wouldn't have had the option to study a creative course without the support of the Isle of Man Arts Council. With it, I have been able to create freely without financial worry which has allowed me to reach my full potential on the course as well as being able to have a team to talk about my ongoing progress within the course."
- Kipenzi Thomas
"I can’t thank the Isle of Man Arts Council enough for all the incredible support that they have given me throughout my time at drama school. I gained a place at LAMDA in September 2019 to study for an MFA in Acting and was so grateful to have been awarded the Jonathan Gollow Bursary for Performing Arts to help support me through my training. I chose to use my bursary money to cover the cost of my accommodation in London for the duration of my course. I am so grateful to have had this financial support as it has allowed me to focus on getting the most out of my training at LAMDA, without the financial pressures of living in London. As the UK government continue to threaten cuts to music and arts funding across the country, the Isle of Man Arts Council have always been such amazing champions of young people wishing to pursue careers in performing arts. I’m so grateful to them for giving me this award and for helping me to start my career as a professional actor."
- Sarojalily Ratnavel
Get Involved
If you have produced artwork inspired by themes of Black History awareness or are a POC artist with a Manx connection, then we'd love to hear from you! Send your artwork/project and up to 200 words to accompany it to our Arts Engagement Officer Grainney.Sheard@gov.im and we'll feature this in our blog and on social media!
