Lift the Lid Project

#LetsCreateIW

In preparation for The Great Leap Day event at Quay Arts on Saturday 29 February, we commissioned Sassy Productions IoW to ask children and young people what Island Culture means to them.

We asked what inspired them to be creative on the Island; people, places, things.

Here’s the wonderful film, featuring children and young people from Oakfield Primary school, Monkton Arts and the Isle of Wight College.

The Great Leap Forward, an exhibition of artwork from artists Ian Whitmore and Chris Jenkins, with 6 Island schools (250 children) can be viewed at Quay Arts until 18 April 2020.

Lift the Lid - Back & Forth - East Cowes, Lift the Lid - The Great Light & Dark Show - Totland, Lift the Lid - The Ventnor Giant - Ventnor, Lift the Lid - We that Breathe - Newport, Lift the Lid Project

The Great Leap Forward

LIFT THE LID ON ISLAND CULTURE CELEBRATORY EXHIBITION

Quay Arts, West Gallery

Saturday 8 February – Saturday 18 April 2020

Opening Event: Sat 8 Feb, 12 – 2 pm

The Great Leap Day: Sat 29 Feb, 10 am – 2 pm

Free, all welcome!

A group exhibition of work created by local school children from across the Island reflecting upon the heritage of the Isle of Wight and theme of ‘The Future’, drawing inspiration from, and celebrating the Lift the Lid project and commissions.

Art work created by a student at St Saviours School

Artists Ian Whitmore and Chris Jenkins worked with Island schools; St Saviours, Queensgate, Nine Acres, St Catherine’s, The Island Free School and Barton Primary to create work for this exhibition exploring heritage, culture and the theme of ‘The Future’. Taking inspiration from the four Lift the Lid public art commissions created on the Island earlier last year, the artists and young people invite you the viewer to consider what cultural heritage means to you and what might be left in the future for others to discover.

Join us on Saturday 8th February from 12 – 2pm, as we open the exhibition to the public and on 

Saturday 29thFebruary from 10am – 2pm, for an interactive day of fun to celebrate the Leap Year.


At Quay Arts on Saturday 29 February from 10am – 2pmLift the Lid artists will be hosting workshops and performances to celebrate The Great Leap Forward exhibition, the end of the Lift the Lid on Island Cultureproject and to consider the future of cultural heritage on the Island through the eyes of young people.  We’d love everyone to get involved by either coming to the event on online through social media.

We will be stating: 

“This is IW Culture” and asking the question “Is this IW Culture?”

We’d like to explore this by presenting many types of what we might consider IW culture, e.g. glass blowing, sand art, poetry and fiction about the sea and the coastline, folk music, new art including the Ventnor Giant, etc.

We’ll be presenting a short film by Sassy Productions IW capturing what children and young people think IW Culture is.

This hashtag #LetsCreate has been used by the Arts Council England to share their new 10 year strategy. For The Great Leap Day we will use #LetsCreateIW (ACE SW have approved this use).

Lift the Lid social channels to follow/direct users to, before and on the day:

Community leaders can access a social media plan here and there’s a youth leader’s version.