Isle of Wight News on Ventnor Blog

A new exhibition starts at Dimbola Lodge this weekend, entitled Out of the Box.

The photographic exhibition is a collaboration between students at Medina High School and St George’s Special Needs School.

The theme of the exhibition celebrates creativity, encouraging the students to think ‘outside of the box’ and exploring the processes of the Camera Obscura.

It runs until the 11th April and more details can be found on Events on the Wight.

This week is your last chance to catch the MELT exhibition at Quay Arts.

Taking over the cafe wall and Rope Store Gallery over the last few weeks has been work by two hugely talented Island artists.

The work of Michael Forrest and David Knight hang side by side, each a very different style, but both complementing each other.

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A new artist in residence takes their place at Quay Arts today, using the Learning Curve Gallery as their base.

The Medina Extended Schools Partnership in collaboration with Quay Arts and Medina High School welcome Chris Cudlip, who will be offering a range of workshops around the theme of Nomadic Life and Culture to invited schools during the month of March.

We understand that the ‘Medina Yurt’ will be the focus of the work, with workshops being held in and around the Yurt.

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If you’re wondering what to get up to over the next week, the Island isn’t short of things to do.

Our usual weekly round of events is coming to you a little later than usual, because this week we tried a different format.

Having missed our slot on IW Radio yesterday, we were short of a podcast to put out on VB today.

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A new exhibition at Dimbola Lodge got off to a great start last month with a very special guest attending the launch party.

Families, artists and supporters of the No Man Is An Island project were welcomed to the exhibition along with Cat Lorigggio from London2012, who travelled down from London especially for the occasion.

‘The Camera & Beyond’ the latest exhibition from the No Man is an Island group.

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This coming weekend brings a chance to meet local Island artists and perhaps pick up a bargain at the Cowes ‘Artists and Makers Sale’.

This will be the fourth Artists and Makers event, which takes place at the Regatta Centre in Cowes.

Over the course of two days there’ll be an opportunity to meet ten exhibiting artists with a good cross-section of styles and disciplines.

We understand that there’ll be a broad price range, so hopefully something for everyone, whether it’s a treat for yourself or a present for a friend of loved one.

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If you’re an artist living and working on the Isle of Wight, you’re sure to have heard of the Open Studios event that takes place during the summer.

Over the course of two weekends in July, artists across the Island open their studios to the public, attracting some 5,000 pairs of feet through their doors each year.

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If you didn’t tune in to IW Radio for our regular lunchtime slot yesterday, then you would have missed our top tips for things happening on the Island over the coming week.

Fear not though because as usual, we’re publishing a recording of the slot for you to play back at your leisure.

Top of the list for our recommendations is the new exhibition by Island photographers Jason Swain and Paul Blackley at Dimbola Lodge.

Wight Surf History: An exhibition of Surf Photography provides a fantastic insight into the Island surf scene and is part of a larger project to chart the history of Island surfing over the last 50 years.

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If you’re a teacher (or pupil) not at school today but know of a mosaic made by the students, you’re not too late to enter it into a competition that could earn your school prizes worth £750.

Topp Tiles are sponsoring the Mega Mosaics competition for mosaic projects created by schools.

All the details are over at Mega Mosaic’s Website – closing date tomorrow!

It might be cold outside, but don’t let that stop you checking out what’s on the Isle of Wight today.

We’ve got details of at least 20 events including exhibitions, sports activities and music gigs.

Tim Johnson is an Island-based artist of many hats – costume; photography; performance art; teaching – and another, one that he’s woven himself out of basket material (he’s a basket maker too).

You could well have seen one of his domes around the Island, including some that are made from living vegetation, so continuing to grow.

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This Saturday, if you happen to be up in Newport doing your Christmas shopping, why not take a break from the mayhem and pop into the Museum of Island History in Newport.

A recent acquisition that was donated to the museum will be on display.

It is a painting of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.

The painting was commissioned when Garibaldi visited the Island in 1864, at the time staying with Charles Seely at Brook House. We understand that the daughters of Louis and Julia Denaro, who bought the Old Coach House at Brook House in 1958 have donated the painting to the Isle of Wight Council’s Heritage Service.

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One of the fascinations of youth is the first time you discover that the seeds from the sycamore tree spin like mini helicopters.

As part of National Tree Week, three Island organisations – Goodleaf Tree Climbing, Eccleston George and Boojum & Snark – are getting together to help people to make their own Sycamore helicopter seeds, but from paper using origami skills. Skills that they’ll be teaching.

Goodleaf are bringing their Big Shot catapult along and if you’re lucky, you might be able to use it to fire your origami helicopter seeds skywards.

All the details at Isle of Wight Events site, OnTheWight.

image: lofaesofa under CC BY 2.0

There are some great exhibitions at Dimbola Lodge, at the moment.

As well as The Graduate Show, there is also an exhibition by Nurit Yardeni.

She has been involved in photography for around thirty years ago, and has made photographic expeditions all around the world to places such as Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia, Gabon, Togo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, China, India, Burma,Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

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One thing we always love going to are Graduate Shows from Universities. It’s a great place to get a sneak preview of the burgeoning artistic talent.

Starting today at Dimbola Lodge is an exhibition of degree work from the 2009 graduate honours degree students from the Faculty of Art and Design at Southampton Solent University.

If you have any interest in The Arts, these kind of exhibitions are alway worth checking out.

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Last Friday evening saw the opening of an innovative new gallery and studio space in Sandown. Yes! In Sandown.

The atmosphere at Boojum & Snark on the High Street was buzzing, as a wide variety of guests joined the founders of this social business – Tracy Mikich, Lauren Fry, Simon Avery and Joanne Hummel-Newell – in raising their glasses for the launch.

Amongst those toasting the gallery’s success was Sandown Mayor, Ian Ward. He told us “I think this new studio/gallery is really positive for Sandown. It’s good for the town and I wish it the greatest success. I will do all I can to help promote it as it’s great for the young people and great for the community.”

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During 11th – 13th November, BBC Blast will be coming to the Island and bringing with them a bundle of fantastic free creative workshops for anyone aged between 13-19 years old at Quay Arts in Newport.

BBC Blast describes itself as a ‘mobile media village’ and its aim is to travel around to 30 locations each year.

Last year alone it provided free creative art workshops and showcases for a whopping 150,000 participants.

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The second No Man is an Island exhibition opened on Saturday in the Learning Curve Gallery, Quay Arts.

It followed a weekend workshop with Jeanette Appleton for parents and carers from the Island branch of the National Autistic Society.

Jeanette has an amazing exhibition in the Michael West Gallery, called Sow:Sew, and the Learning Curve work is a response to this and to the recent ‘Inside Outside Artists Moving On‘ exhibition from the Rope Store Gallery.

Called Textile and Landscape, it takes a playful look at what we might understand by landscape – it all depends on your view point!

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This evening the Quay Arts Cente will be hosting their monthly Artists’ Networking Evening.

Once a month, arty types on the Island come together to mingle and shares ideas and experiences.

Tonight, Jeanette Appleton’s will give a talk in the Anthony Minghella Theatre about her Michael West exhibition; ‘SOW:SEW’.

Everyone is invited along from 6pm.

The No Man is an Island Project returns to Quay Arts, this time to the Learning Curve Young People’s Gallery.

Inspired by Michael West exhibition, SOW:SEW, parents and carers living with autism in their families on the IOW develop felt-making and other skills as part of the No Man is an Island Project supported by Awards for All and SEEDA.

Textile and Landscape No Man is an Island Project in collaboration with the IOW National Autistic Society

The end of show reception take place on Thursday 19 November between 6-8pm.

These evocative life studies are a form-specific project.

Inspired by the female nude, Tony Trowbridge creates this body of work through the medium of monoprint, bleach and spray can.

Trowbridge is a talented outsider artist who delves into different pools of the art world. Although he works in many different mediums from acrylic, bleach and inks, his main means of communication is through the aerosol can.

These series of paintings, sketches and monoprints show how serious he is about his drawing from life models.

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If we are unfortunate enough to be hit with rain tomorrow, please don’t let that stop you heading down to Ventnor for the first V-Bay Festival.

There are loads of activities taking place inside and all beach activities will be transferred to the old bus station in Pier Street if it is wet.

If you fancy a bit of arts and crafts then head to Ventnor Creative Activities Centre at 6 Church Street. It will be opening its doors for the first time over the V-Bay Festival weekend with a series of workshops.

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If you’re looking for things to do with the kids next week, read on.

On Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday next week why not take your kids Carnival Learning Centre?

They will be holding Aztec Antics for the over 5s.

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Quay Arts will be hosting the last showing of ‘SOW:SEW’; touring exhibition.

Jeanette Appleton is an artist trained in craft and fine art whose practice explores the boundaries between hand and mass-production.

Her prime medium is felt.

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Tim Johnson and Chris Jenkins have been working hard over the last few weeks as part of the Kingdom of Old Exhibition in the Michael West Gallery at Quay Arts Centre.

Tomorrow sees the End of Show Reception taking place tomorrow between 2-4pm.

The event will celebrate the work that Tim and Chris have not only completed in the gallery, but also the workshops they’ve been doing with school children.