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Artists from all over the world are coming to Jersey next month and will be locked-in Elizabeth Castle for ten days to get together and get creative.
They will be representing most of the Islands competing in the NatWest Island Games and will be working together on the theme of “Islandness” while being cut off from the rest of the world.
There will be artists from Åland, Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Faroe Isles, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, the Western Isles, Shetland Isles, Saint Helena, Saaremaa and Rhodes.
Visual artist and sculptor Emma Reid and theatre maker Joanna Johnson will be flying the flag for the home team.
They won't be able to leave the Castle at all from Monday 22 June until Thursday 2 July as they work on the project that aims to mirror the cooperative ethos of the games - bringing people of different cultures, languages and backgrounds together.
Jersey Arts Trust Director Tom Dingle said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic to connect with these Islands from all over the world and learn more about their artists and art scene. We are so grateful to the various arts bodies and organisations in each of the Islands who have helped us to source artists and also to the NatWest Island Games committee for their support.
“We are still in discussion with a couple more Islands, so hopefully we will be able to add more names to the list in due course but we just couldn’t wait to announce all of the exciting people who are on board already! It’s going to be a unique experience and we are very much looking forward to seeing what they collectively make.”
The residency project, in association with Jersey Heritage and WildWorks – the renowned international theatre company – will be run by Sue Hill, who also worked at the Eden Project.
The artists will showcase their joint project at the end of the lock-in.
The Chairman of the NatWest Island Games XVI Organising Committee Phil Austin said: “This event captures the essence of the Games by bringing artists from all the competing islands together in a spirit of co-operation. I am looking forward to seeing the results of their labours which I am sure will be truly inspiring”.
It's not the first time Jersey Arts Trust has locked in artists at the Castle - they last did it in October 2013 with a group of artists from Jersey, Iceland, Malta, Denmark and London who took up residency to create work together inspired by their surroundings.
The 2015 NatWest Island Games kicks off on 27 June.
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