Whether you're new to the island or have been here for a long time, there are a few ways we have made it easier for you to link up with other creatives and get more involved with the Arts community on the island.
1. Join the Artists' Directory
Your first port of call should be to create a profile on our Artists' Directory. Here you can very quickly access lots of other artists' details should you wish to make contact about a potential commission, request an artist's services or pitch a collaboration. This is where other artists and the general public will be able to find examples of your work, website and contact details as well.
How to create a profile:
- Register or sign into your online portal - this can be found at the top of the homepage. If you are registering for the first time you will need to set it up with an email and password.
- Request access to become an Artists' Profile. One of our team will get back to you by email once they have approved your access.
- You can then begin to populate the fields with images, a bio and contact details for your creative profile.
The Arts Team encourage all creatives to submit their details to create a varied overview of the creative community and if you have any questions or need any help setting it up, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via iomartscouncil@gov.im.
2. Follow Us On Social Media
This is where we post our most up to date information as it happens in real time. If you already follow us but aren't seeing our posts then you may need to alter your settings to see our posts first. This will ensure that you are getting our updates about funding, events and Arts Team news first each and every day whilst also showing us your feedback through likes, shares and comments.
Facebook @artscounciliom
Instagram @arts_council_iom
Twitter @iomartscouncil
3. Be an Active Member on our Facebook Groups
Whilst we are on the topic of social media, you can dive even further into the kind of content that we provide for our audiences by joining one of our Facebook groups. In order to get the most out of us and the wealth of knowledge that the creative community around you has to offer, be an active member in one or more of our groups. A community with a niche focus offers the chance to share and exchange specific ideas and queries in a more informal setting than by email. Plus, it requires only a little participation on our members' part. The more you put in, the more you will get out. Ask questions, participate in discussions and encourage each other when sharing arts news. A good rule of thumb would be to engage with posts online in the same way that you would like others to engage with your posts when you share them, i.e. positively and with kindness. Show your support and engagement by regularly liking, commenting and sharing posts in these groups and you will start to be seen and become familiar with other members who are likely to be working in similar fields to you.
We have three active groups which address our three primary demographics: Funding Applicants; Working Artists; and Audience Members. You may feel that you fit into only one, or indeed all three? Make sure you know the rules of the group your posting in in order to get the most relevant information, feedback and engagement.
We created this group to help our funding applicants navigate our online applications. This is a community whereby we update applicants about funding deadlines, types of funding as well as share tips and strategies about how best to approach the applications. We use this group to update you on news, meet-the-team events and to help you should you have any questions regarding the online application process. If you're experiencing any issues regarding your online application, please e-mail our arts team directly at iomartscouncil@gov.im.
If you are a creative person who is seeking a place to explore opportunities available on the island then this is the place for you. In this group we post about calls for submissions, expressions of interest, competitions, commissioned work that are either Government Organised or that we have been asked to promote on behalf of another organisation.
Please note that this group is NOT a bulletin board to post information about your arts event/business.If you're looking to share your news/event/activity then the place to do that is in our final group which we will talk about next.
This group is our online community bulletin board where we encourage group members to promote, share and find out about arts news, events and activities run by artists and organisations on the Island. This is the space to share posters and sell tickets for community arts events.
You can also share details for your arts events by inputting it yourself on our What's On Where event pages right here on the website. Find it here.
4. Subscribe and Contribute to our Newsletter
Every Monday at 10am, we bring you a fresh edition of Croo Create straight to your inbox. In each newsletter we share updates from the Isle of Man Arts Council and Arts Team as well as news from the creative community. We love sharing news about all the brilliant things our creative community has been up to which is shared in our section all about what's been adding value. In this section, we are sharing things from the creative community that make us smile, things that we think you'd love, things that will challenge and inspire you to keep being creative throughout this strange time.
If you have something that you think would add value to the creative community such as a positive newstory, an online event, service, free resource, inspiring piece of artwork/poetry/music etc. then please do get in touch with our Arts Engagement Officer, Grainney Sheard who puts together a weekly newsletter to all IOMAC subscribers.
Each newsletter reflects what is currently going on in our creative community from our funding applicants to the wider creative community on the island.Our mission in these newsletters is to reflect the experiences of our creative community as much as possible and to do that we need to hear from you! Send an email to our Arts Engagement Officer - Grainney.Sheard@gov.im
5. Listen To Our Podcast
Are you looking to start your creative career but are unsure what jobs are out there for you? Are you a member of the public wanting to be more involved in the arts community? Every other week, the podcast welcomes creatives across the island and beyond the waters who share their experience of working in the creative industry and how you can be a part of it! Hosted by Olivia Savage, a 24-year-old art graduate beginning her career in the creative field, this podcast is a platform for open and honest discussions about the art world today.
6. Attend Our Funded Events
We are in a very privileged position on the island where we are able to attend in-person events. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. Experience what the island has to offer creatively as well as network with other like minded artists in your field. You can find our about our funded events through all the channels we have mentioned in this article.
As well as attending our funded events, the Isle of Man Arts Team hosts up to two meet-the-team events a year. These are great opportunities for creatives to not only meet and discuss projects with the Arts Team and Council members in person, but is also a fantastic networking opportunity to meet other creatives at these events. We will share news of our next event on social media and in our newsletter so keep an eye out!
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