Creative Scilly Festival 2023

A warm welcome to the first Creative

Scilly festival of 2023

We’re excited to be working once again with the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, who have enhanced our Creative Scilly programme with some special Festival of Nature events (look out for the symbol). With contributions from Scilly-based creatives, wildlife and heritage experts alongside a number of invited visiting guests, we hope you will be inspired and look forward to seeing you.

Festival organisers – Creative Islands and Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust

Festival promoter – Islands’ Partnership

Galleries open during Creative Scilly Festival

(check with galleries for opening times):

ST. MARY’S

Tamarisk Gallery | Phoenix Craft Studios

Porthloo Studios | Silver Street Gallery, John Bourdeaux | Glandore Gallery

ST. AGNES

Pot Buoys Gallery

ST. MARTIN’S

Fay Page | Middletown Barn

North Farm Gallery

BRYHER

Golden Eagle Studio | Bryher Gallery

TRESCO

Gallery Tresco

The festival also features a number of open studios:

GEMMA PEARCE ART

Rocky Hill Studio, Porthloo, St. Mary’s

Opening times: 9.30am-12.30pm

Dates: Friday 12th, Monday 15th, Tuesday 16th, Wednesday 17th, Friday 19th

Gemma is a local nature-inspired artist, creating beautiful drawings in pen and ink in the pointillism style.

CHRIS GARRATT

Porthloo Studios, St. Mary’s

Opening times: 2.00-5.00pm

Dates: Monday 15th, Tuesday 16th, Thursday 18th, Friday 19th

No meaning, no design, no message, no symbolism, no illustration, no picturing, no expression, no geometrics, no art[ifice]. What remains? Surface and marker: the “image” proceeds from the compelling physical encounter between marker and surface. Pre art history, pre art theory, pre art education, pre oil paint, canvas, charcoal, easel - all the trappings of “being an Artist”.

EMMA HUMPHRIES

Popplestone Studio, Phoenix Craft Studios, St. Mary’s Emma Humphries provides 1:1 polymer clay workshops tailored to your requirements. You can choose to make jewellery, mosaic tiles, buttons, small pictures or scarf pins. Most classes take an afternoon (2 1/2 hrs) and no previous experience is needed. From £50.

Drop into Popplestone Studio to arrange, or contact: emma@popplestonestudio.com

ART IN THE GARDEN

Camelia Cottage, Holy Vale, St. Mary’s

Opening times: 10.30am-3.00pm daily

Holy Vale is at the start of many beautiful walks around St. Mary’s. Join us for a garden exhibition of artworks all inspired by the Isles of Scilly, including glasswork by Leigh Sladen, paintings by Tom Sladen and textiles by Emily Sladen.

MARK EBERLEIN WOOD TATTOOS

Island Hall, St. Agnes

Opening times: 11.00am-1.00pm daily

WILDLIFE WALK WITH WILL WAGSTAFF

Join Will Wagstaff, our resident naturalist and ornithologist, on a relaxed wildlife tour of the Garrison, St. Mary’s. Discover the birds, flowers and history of this corner of the island. Will provides a spotting scope for participants, but please bring binoculars if you have them. This will be a gentle amble but over some rocky ground at times and there are some short but steep hills.

Time: 2.00-4.00pm

Meet: Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St. Mary’s.

Finish near St. Mary’s Quay

Cost: £10 (proceeds to the Wildlife Trust)

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

WILDLIFE Q&A

Bring your wildlife questions for the day to the Wildlife Trust team.

Time: 3.00-4.30pm

Venue: The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: FREE Booking: Drop in

MONITORING DOLPHINS, BATS AND MORE...

A bioacoustic collaboration between the Wildlife Trust and Chelonia Limited, Mousehole. Join Joe Dennett from Chelonioa Limited and Meg Hayard Smith, from Research Development UK to learn about the long-term dolphin monitoring off the coast of St. Martin’s and bat monitoring at Holy Vale on St. Mary’s.

Time: 4.30-6.00pm

Venue: The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: FREE

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600 or simply come along

FESTIVAL WELCOME EVENT

Join us for a warm welcome to the Festival, with introductions from the Festival team and a chance to meet some of the activity leaders. Complimentary glass of prosecco on arrival and the bar will be open.

Time: 6.30-8.30pm

Venue: The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: FREE

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600 or simply come along

Saturday 13th May

We are delighted that our festival events coincide with the first Scilly60 - an ultramarathon covering all five inhabited islands which takes place on Saturday 13th May. We would like to wish all the participants well and congratulate everyone involvedcheck out the website for more details: scilly60.co.uk

SCILLY BEACH PAINTING WORKSHOP

Join artist Ellie Verrecchia on the beach and make a coastal painting observing the sea, sky and sand of Scilly. Working on natural wood panel, learn simple sketching and seascape painting techniques in quick-drying acrylic. No experience necessary! Materials and aprons will be provided.

Time: 10.30am-12.30pm approx

Meet: Porthmellon Beach, St. Mary’s

Cost: £50

Booking required: ellieverrecchia@gmail.com 07734 994548

ST. MARTIN’S ISLAND WALK WITH ANNA BROWNE

Explore St. Martin’s finest beaches, flower fields and more with Anna Browne, local resident and the force behind St. Martin’s Watersports. You’ll visit the Community Observatory to learn about the fantastic unpolluted dark skies of Scilly. Then stop at the Island Hall to take part in a ‘marine conservation workshop’, showcasing the conservation effort that Scilly ensures for its wildlife.

The walk will take in the local pub where you can grab lunch, or bring a packed lunch along.

Time: 10.45am-3.30pm

Meet: On the quay at St. Martin’s (Higher or Lower Town dependent on tides)

Cost: £20 (lunch and boat ticket not included)

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

TRESCO ABBEY GARDEN GUIDED WALK

Join Head Gardener Andrew Lawson on a special tour of the garden. Find out about the exotic and native plants in this world-renowned collection.

Time: 11.00am-1.00pm Meet: Garden entrance

Cost: £25 (includes all day pass to the garden, boat not included)

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

SEAGRASS GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT TRIP

Join the Seaquest glass-bottom boat, with ReMEDIES* Team guides from Natural England and the Ocean Conservation Trust to explore the seagrass beds and marine wildlife of Scilly. Collection and return to St. Mary’s Quay, with the two-hour tour either to the Eastern or Northern Rocks seagrass beds, dependent on wind direction.

Please bring warm clothes.

*LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES is a marine conservation partnership project to Save Our Seabed at five Special Areas of Conservation in Southern England, through seagrass restoration, education and innovation. It is funded by the LIFE programme and led by Natural England.

Time: 10.20am-12.30pm

Meet: St. Mary’s Quay

Cost: £10 returnable deposit to reserve your place

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

PENINNIS LIGHTHOUSE WALK

Join islander Jess Vian for a gentle stroll up Buzza Hill and along the top of Peninnis to the end of the headland, and then back to Porthcressa, looking at and learning about lighthouses as you go.

Time: 2.00-4.30pm

Meet: Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St. Mary’s

Cost: £12 (proceeds to the Wildlife Trust and the Museum)

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

A SHORT EVENING OF SCILLY SHORTS

Island musician and writer Piers Lewin presents a programme of short films inspired by the islands. The landscape of Scilly is a cinematographer’s dream and the history of the place provides a rich vein of storytelling. The event will showcase several evocative short films filmed on the island of Rosevear as part of The Grand Ball project (see page 26) as well as a mix of films highlighting the filmmakers’ imaginative responses to Scilly.

The evening will include a marine conservation pop-up stand. Learn how we can safeguard the oceans with guests from the Ocean Conservation Trust.

Time: 7.00-9.00pm Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: £5

Booking: oldtowninn-scilly.co.uk/arts

FIELD RECORDING AND SOUNDSCAPE COMPOSITION WORKSHOP

A guided walk around Bryher recording sounds of the natural environment, using a variety of recording techniques. Followed by an editing and composition session to create an audio soundscape for participants to take away and keep. No previous experience required.

Time: 9.30am-1.30pm

Meet: Outside Bryher Shop

Cost: £40

Booking required: bryhersound@icloud.com

INTRODUCTION TO WATERCOLOUR FROM LIFE

Artist Stephen Morris will take out a small group of budding artists to paint on the beach. He will demonstrate his basic watercolour techniques and methods for working from life, with an emphasis on enjoyment. Starting in the gallery with a brief talk and demonstration and finishing in the gallery with a cup of tea or coffee and cake. All materials and equipment provided. Indoor facilities for wet weather.

Time: 9.45am-12.45pm

Meet: Glandore Gallery, Porthloo, St. Mary’s

Cost: £30

Booking required: glandoregallery@gmail.com

01720 422535 SEAGRASS

GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT TRIP

See listing for Saturday 13th May

TRESCO MAKERS’ MARKET

Join a host of talented islanders for the regular Tresco Makers’ Market – a community event supporting makers, showcasing local talent and raising money for the local community centre. The monthly market features everything from children’s clothing to wall art; jewellery to woodwork.

Time: 1.30-4.30pm

Venue: Along New Grimsby sea wall (or Flying Boat Studio if bad weather)

Cost: FREE

ST. MARTIN’S VINEYARD TOUR

Join a regenerative vineyard tour and optional tasting. Includes an introduction from the owners James and Holly about why biodiversity is so integral to the vineyard.

Tours take around one hour. Dogs on leads are welcome.

Time: Open 11.00am-2.30pm with guided introductions at 11.00am and 1.00pm

Meet: St. Martin’s Vineyard, Higher Town, St. Martin’s

Cost: Free tour/talk | Optional extra – £6pp wine tasting

Booking: No booking required, simply turn up

For more information head to stmartinsvineyard.co.uk

WILDLIFE FARM WALK, BRYHER

Ruth and Graham welcome you to their working mixed farm situated to the southern end of Bryher. Learn about their conservation, grazing cattle which protects the farm’s biodiversity and their home-grown fruit and vegetables.

Dogs on leads are welcome.

Time: 2.00-4.00pm

Meet: Vegetable honesty stand, Hillside Farm, Bryher

Cost: £10 (proceeds to the Wildlife Trust)

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

WILDLIFE QUIZ WITH ACOUSTIC MUSIC FROM TEAN WEBB

Form a team (or pop along to join a table) and test your knowledge of local Scilly wildlife, from land to sea. Proceeds to the Wildlife Trust.

Time: 7.00pm

Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: £10 per team of 4

Booking: No booking required, simply turn up

FUSED GLASS WORKSHOP

Local artist Oriel Hicks will share the basic principles of cutting and kiln fusing, showing how certain colours react with heat. You can create up to four items - coasters, window-hangers and more, these will be ready for collection the next day.

Time: 10.00am-1.00pm

Venue: Phoenix Craft Studios, St. Mary’s

Cost: £40

Booking: oriel@taterdu.plus.com 01720 422900

SCILLY BEACH PAINTING WORKSHOP

See listing for Saturday 13th May.

Time: 11.00am-1.00pm approx

Meet: St Mary’s Quay (for boat to St. Agnes)

Cost: £50 (not including boat)

Booking: ellieverrecchia@gmail.com 07734 994548

ST. MARTIN’S VINEYARD TOUR

See listing for Sunday 14th May.

ZERO-PLASTIC LOBSTER POTTING

Join St. Agnes artisan Jof Hicks to learn about making traditional lobster pots.

Plastic-free lobster potting is recognised as an important innovation to reduce marine pollution.

Listen and try for an hour or join the full workshop.

Time: 11.00am-12.00pm (short session) or 11.00am-1.30pm (full workshop)

Meet: Pereglis Workshop, St. Agnes (Outside St. Agnes church)

Cost: £10 for short session and £25 for full workshop

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

ANGELINE MORRISON

Angeline Morrison is a folk singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist whose 2022 album The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience (Topic Records) was voted No 1 Folk Album of the year in The Guardian. Angeline explores traditional song with a deep reverence, love and curiosity, a handmade sonic aesthetic and a feeling for the stories of ordinary human lives.

Time: 8.00pm

Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: £10

Booking: oldtowninn-scilly.co.uk/arts

SCILLY BEACH PAINTING WORKSHOP

See listing for Saturday 13th May.

ANGELINE MORRISON

A unique opportunity to see Angeline Morrison perform in the beautiful setting of St. Martin’s Church. The concert will include a special performance of her song Unknown African Boy (D. 1830), a shipwreck victim who is buried in the churchyard on St. Martin’s.

We will make arrangements with St. Mary’s Boatmen’s Association to ensure that people can return to St. Mary’s after the concert.

Time: Afternoon – time dependent on boating and tides and will be confirmed nearer the time.

Check visitislesofscilly.com/creativescilly for details.

Venue: St. Martin’s Church, St. Martin’s

Cost: Free, donations welcome. Boat tickets not included

Booking: No booking required, simply turn up

DAVID R ABRAM’S AERIAL ATLAS OF ANCIENT BRITAIN

Join us for an evening of inspirational images from author and photographer, David R Abram.

David has spent the past five years capturing views of Britain’s most extraordinary prehistoric sites from above in rare, sunrise light using drones and telescopic poles. Whether Neolithic tombs in Orkney, Bronze Age ceremonial sites in Snowdonia or the entrance graves and cairn fields erected by our ancestors across Scilly, his images reveal forms invisible at ground level, and intriguing connections between the monuments and their varied landscapes.

Lively and rich with archaeological insight, David’s talk will cherry pick highlights from his new book, The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain. He’ll also be showing new material captured during his stay on Scilly – weather permitting!

Signed copies of The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain will be on sale at the talk.

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: £10

Booking: oldtowninn-scilly.co.uk/arts

Wednesday 17th May

FUSED GLASS WORKSHOP

See listing for Monday 15th May.

A GUIDED WALK WITH DAVID R ABRAM

Details for this event will be announced in due course, please check visitislesofscilly.com/creativescilly for updates.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

In celebration of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse: Following on from their work together on the Grand Ball project, the Museum and St. Mary’s Theatre Club reunite to give you a night of Poetry, Prosecco and Pedantry! Lighthouse enthusiast and Museum

trustee Jess Vian tops the bill with facts, figures and stories, associated with Scilly’s most impressive lighthouse.

Time: 6.30-8.00pm

Venue: Isles of Scilly Museum on the Move, Town Hall, St. Mary’s

Cost: Free, donations welcome

Booking: Tourist Information Centre 01720 620600

OPEN MIC MUSIC SESSION

Come and listen to a variety of local performers – and feel free to join in.

Time: 8.00pm Venue: Jack’s Bar, St. Mary’s Cost: FREE

MORDARDH SURF AND SEA POETRY

Inspired by the sea? Breaking waves are our starting point – we will create dynamic poetry with the ocean as our muse. Led by Ella Walsworth-Bell and Ulrike Duran of Mor Poets, this workshop is open to beginners and experienced writers. A sea swim with Wild and Scilly Mermaids (plus hot drinks and cakes!) will bring our poems to life, adding sensory details from nature.

Time: 2.00-4.00pm

Meet: Old Town Beach, St. Mary’s

Cost: £20

Booking required: mordardh@gmail.com

HA HUM AH THEATRE –COLD, DARK MATTERS

There’s a shed in that field. It’s long forgotten. Unloved some would say. There’s nothing really important about that shed. After all, it’s just a shed... Or is it? This is the story of one man’s infatuation with an abandoned shed, that according to one curious stranger, will soon be blown up.

A satirical dark comedy about rural communities, isolation, and faddism, Cold, Dark Matters delves into the murky underwaters of a community in Cornwall and its new resident whose desire for a rural retreat may not be all that it seems.

Time: 7.30pm Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Cost: £10

Booking: oldtowninn-scilly.co.uk/arts

Saturday 20th May

AN INTRODUCTION TO NEEDLE-FELTING

Join crafter Verity Branscombe for needle-felting, with local wildlife suggested as your inspiration. All welcome, from absolute beginners upwards, at this relaxed session. The price includes a basic needle-felting kit and wool for you to take away.

Time: 9.30am-12.30pm

Cost: £40

Venue: Church Pavilion, St. Mary’s

Booking required: fossilbeach@live.co.uk

ST. MARY’S THEATRE CLUB AND GUEST ARTISTS - THE BISHOP ROCK LIGHTHOUSE PLAY

This original theatre piece celebrates the remarkable building of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse, with characters unique to Scilly and stories of wrecks and ghosts, alongside accounts of great courage and ingenuity. The play premiered in March 2023 as part of The Grand Ball project (see page 26).

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: £10/£5 under 16

Venue: Old Town Inn, St. Mary’s

Booking: oldtowninn-scilly.co.uk/arts

Creative Islands is funded by Arts Council England and managed by the Council of the Isles of Scilly to support and deliver high quality arts and culture to residents and visitors.

With funding over the past two-years we have created a Manifesto for Culture, supported plans to progress the new museum and cultural centre in the Town Hall on St Mary’s, and delivered the biannual Creative Scilly festivals.

We were thrilled to be designated a national Priority area by ACE last year and currently have a number of arts initiatives underway with some outstanding partners. We are running Young Promoters and Young Curators groups with Five Islands Academy, programming year-round theatre and performance events, and supporting major arts projects including The Grand Ball (see page 26) and Luna, a new Luke Jerram artwork for St. Martin’s.

iosmuseumandculturalcentre.org

Tammy Bedford and

Jeremy Brown

Project Co-ordinators for Creative Islands

The Grand Ball

Commissioned by the Isles of Scilly Museum, funded by Arts Council England and supported by Creative Islands.

Earlier this year Artistic Director Bec Applebee led a team of creatives on a project which celebrates the remarkable story of the building of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse. Over the winter Bec and her team worked with a whole host of community organisations and residents on Scilly, culminating in a celebration weekend in March. The project includes a theatre show, exhibition, new music, a story quilt and short films.

The Creative Scilly festival programme is another opportunity to experience The Grand Ball project, we hope you’ll enjoy this unique interpretation of our history:

A Short Evening of Scilly Shorts – page 11 Night at the Museum – page 20

The Bishop Rock Lighthouse Play – page 23

grandballofscilly.org

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust looks after around half of our beautiful islands, managing habitats for wonderful wildlife, allowing people to explore by keeping paths clear and finding creative ways to connect people with local nature. There are lots of ways to support the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, including becoming a Friend of Scilly Wildlife or by making a donation.

support.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk

If you’d like to stay in touch with us, our Wild Scilly eNewsletter will send a dose of Scilly straight to your inbox, letting you know what we’ve been up to.

support.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/stay-in-touch ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk

hello@ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk

01720 422153

IoSWT, Trenoweth, St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0NS

Join in!