Looking back on our arts highlights from 2024
As we enter 2025 with a renewed sense of excitement for the year ahead for Culture on Scilly, we wanted to take a moment to review the headlines of what we achieved in 2024.
Our arts co-ordinators, Tammy Bedford and Jeremy Brown, are working behind the scenes to put together a programme of events and projects for 2025 - and once again, we’ll be working with a number of local venues on the five islands to bring shows and events to as many Scilly residents and visitors as possible.
Tammy and Jeremy will consider what worked well in 2024 and bring that to the new programme. Let’s take a look at some of the headlines for last year’s Culture on Scilly programme:
We brought 15 shows over to the Isles of Scilly
We were delighted to bring over shows from renowned theatre companies such as o-region, Miracle Theatre and Ha Hum Ah, to showcases of new music from Piers Lewin and hosting spoken word events from broadcasters such as Keith Wallis.
We had film screenings with renowned producers like Simon Harvey, and mixed media shows featuring artists like Jason Singh and Karen Wimhurst.
While our audience numbers are small, we’re reaching large numbers of the Scilly population
The work of Culture on Scilly so far has shown that there is a committed audience here, and whilst the numbers are relatively small compared to the mainland, they are significant given the size of the population and the venue capacity.
An average audience of 70 on St Mary’s is 5% of the whole population of that Island. On Bryher, an audience of 7 represents 10% of that population. Using St Mary’s as an example, this would translate to 1,150 people for a typical Truro audience. 5% of Plymouth’s population is in excess of 10,000 people.
Metrics matter - and these comparisons provide a vivid reminder of what has been achieved.
Our work is making a difference to young people on the islands, giving them access to arts opportunities and training that wasn’t available before
Young people have been at the heart of what we did in 2024, and our work with Five Islands Academy is a vital part of that.
The Young Curators and The Young Promoters training opportunities we run are recognised as the first ‘rung’ on the training ladder and have been supported by Arts Award, a recognised qualification that focuses on young people’s leadership and creative talent development.
So far, 40 Arts Awards have been delivered across Explorer and Bronze levels, with a further 30 in progress.
Young people are being mentored by working alongside Jack Chandler at the Old Town Inn. This is an informal mentoring situation, but it helps us to bridge the gap between enthusiasm and developing skills and provides useful support in setting up the events and getting to know what is involved in running shows.
Our programming has helped us to create some really important relationships around the islands
A lot of our work has been dependent on working in partnership with others. We’ve worked really closely at all times with Five Islands Academy. Our relationship with the Old Town Inn, and Jack Chandler in particular, has been a huge asset to us.
Jack has shared his skills and expertise, providing technical, operational, and logistical support and his willingness to help has been particularly appreciated by artists
These partnerships have helped to show that working together brings together more resources than we have alone – and this keeps pushing things forward for everyone.
We are bringing the community into every aspect of our work
We have worked hard to create multiple opportunities for community participation:
Five Islands Academy has been the centre of activity hosting visiting artists and productions. It has integrated the cultural programme into its curriculum and is working towards the Artsmark Silver award, reflecting its commitment to arts and cultural activity
Feedback from young people shows they found their involvement worthwhile and expressed a strong desire to continue taking part. They feel it has impacted on their future education, cultural experiences and skills, and personal development
A Five Islands Academy OFSTED inspection rated the school's personal development work in the school as Outstanding, highlighting the cultural programme’s significant contribution
Go See opportunities have broadened young people’s horizons, enriching their cultural and artistic perspective through visits to cities and venues within and beyond Cornwall
People from our community got involved through audience development activities, volunteering, workshop participation, and attendance at events.
We’re making progress in developing our audiences
We have made it our aim to curate the events programme with care and to consider the changing audience throughout the year. We’re starting to see trust in the quality of the programme from local people, who are now more willing to try new things.
Successful collaborations with schools, such as workshops, have helped us to build audiences by tying these activities in with our programming.
We are starting to see evidence that the audience is diversifying, with people who would not have previously considered live arts now engaging with it.
Scilly’s unique character is attracting artists who want to perform on the islands due to their special nature, rather than simply to engage with a historically underserved community.
Our work is directly contributing towards the plans for The Town Hall
The Culture on Scilly events programme feeds into the long-term plans for the Town Hall project, developing a new cultural centre and museum for the islands.
We will be working with the new staff team for the Town Hall to to align with the events plans for the Cultural Centre and Museum.
Our work with young people has laid the groundwork for their involvement in the Cultural Centre and Museum, ensuring their voices are heard
Our work has provided valuable insights into audience behaviour, enabling the Town Hall team to predict audience numbers and income generated.
2024 was a year of much progress for the Culture on Scilly programme, and it has been our pleasure to curate a varied programme of events and projects for local residents and visitors to the islands alike.
The Culture on Scilly team look forward to announcing our 2025 programme of activity and will share news on our forthcoming events soon!
Source: Arts Council England Evaluation Report 2024, Culture on Scilly Phase 2
