June 2021 - "Creative Islands (Isles of Scilly)"

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Thursday 24th June, 1-2pm

Located 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Isles of Scilly archipelago is literally on The Edge, marking the most southerly point in the United Kingdom. Five of the islands are inhabited with a resident population of 2,500 while annual visitor numbers reach over 100,000. This beautiful but remote location means that Scilly is also on The Edge economically and socially, facing real challenges in terms of its future as a sustainable community.

Creative Islands is a Scilly-based programme which explores, develops and promotes the distinctiveness of this extraordinary place through cultural interventions. We work with Scilly-based and visiting artists to deliver events, projects and major commissions. We are co-ordinating the development of a new Centre for Life on Scilly, an ambitious capital project which will provide a new Museum.

Tammy Bedford and Jeremy Brown will give an overview of Creative Islands, and Wyl Menmuir and Toby Carr will each share their experience of responding to creative initiatives in this unique context. We will also feature writing and soundscapes by Scilly artist Piers Lewin.

This seminar will share our experience of using arts, culture and architecture to explore a sense of place. Referencing the work of Scilly-based practitioners and mainland artists, we will explore how each of these is responding creatively to an imagined future where life on The Edge is embraced and celebrated.

Speakers

Tammy Bedford, Creative Islands Co-ordinator – Tammy is a freelance arts producer with over 30 years’ experience in arts management and commissioning. Now based in Cornwall, she has worked at a senior local authority level running cultural services which included public art projects, live arts programming and arts education initiatives. For the past 10 years she has led on projects in a range of artforms including an annual visual art programme for the WOMAD Festival, and music commissions with contemporary composers and sound artists.
Jeremy Brown, Creative Islands Co-ordinator - Jeremy is a freelance arts professional with a long career in arts engagement and education. Currently based on the Isles of Scilly, he spent much of his career in the West Midlands. He has worked at a senior level on Creative Partnerships initiatives, and was also an Advisor for Creative People and Places, working alongside community groups to increase access to cultural activity. He has worked as a visiting lecturer in drama and media at the University of Wolverhampton, and for the City Council Events Team in Wolverhampton to support an annual events programme.
Toby Carr, Senior Lecturer, Falmouth University - Toby is an Architect with over 10 years’ experience. His interests are related to community engagement in the creative process, ecological design and responsible making to improve the quality of our built environment. In 2018, searching for a new challenge and adventure beyond his desk, he embarked on a journey to sea kayak in all the areas of the UK shipping forecast linking stories, places and histories of our coastal settlements and closest neighbours. Toby is facilitating a collaboration between Falmouth University BA(hons) Architecture and Creative Islands to explore ideas for a Centre for Life on Scilly.
Piers Lewin, chef, dry-stone waller, musician and writer - Piers has lived with his family on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, since 1997. He has embraced the historical Scillonian tradition of creative multi-tasking. He has come to love working with the produce of the island whether in the form of food from the land and sea, driftwood from the beach, granite from beneath the ground, music from the pristine soundscape or stories from the community’s collective consciousness. Piers has produced 10 albums of original music inspired by St Agnes, a recipe book, a collection of poetry and a large number of structures in granite and wood.

Wyl Menmuir, novelist, editor and literary consultant - Wyl’s first novel, The Many, was nominated for the Man-Booker Prize and was an Observer Best Fiction of the Year pick. His second novel, Fox Fires, is released in March 2020 with Salt Publishing. Wyl's short fiction has appeared in Best British Short Stories, Elementum Journal, Pipeline and has been published by Nightjar Press and National Trust. He has written for Radio 4’s Open Book, The Guardian and The Observer, and is a regular contributor to the journal, Elementum. Wyl was a contributor to the Creative Islands Walking Stories project.

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