Spotlight - Manx Radio

Michelle James looks after Spotlight this week, with a trip to Port Erin to check out new art and community hub 'Artea'; while she's there, she also meets the artists Clare Payne and Nathan Cardy who are behind the latest exhibition. She also catches up with Charlie Williams and Alex Armstrong, the theatre loving pals who are behind new classic company 'Parodos', who are starting their run with Shakespeare in the Spring.

Assistant Curator for Manx National Heritage Nicola Tooms shows us around the new exhibition 'Traders of the Lost Arts' at the House of Manannan - spoiler: it's super funky. Artist Dawn Kennaugh dorps by to tell us more about hwo she got into painting and what continues to inspire her, and Anumeha Kumar introduces us to the island's first Bollywood dance class which you can try for free all next week! For more info, contact the Theatrix Theatre Company [email protected]

Last week, Howard Caine and a merry band of local performers joined forces to stage the acclaimed film director Mike Leigh’s 1970s cult classic ‘Abigail’s Party’ in aid of the Roy Castles Lung Cancer Charity – he spoke to news editor Lisa Harding for this evening's show.

Out at the Hodgson-Loom Gallery at Laxey Woollen Mills, Julia Ashby Smyth is in the middle of hanging work for her joint exhibition with Neil Milsom who we know for his sculpture, but he’s been adding something completely new into the mix - paintings! The show launches on Friday with an open preview starting at 6pm.

At Studio 42 in Port St Mary, there's just over a week left to see this year's Jeremy Paul exhibition - the gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday but closes the door on this show on October 30 - don't miss it!

The Youth Arts Centre is a hive of activity this evening, with Art Tank, Soundcheck and National Theatre Connections activities taking place - we’ll be finding out what’s on when! I’ve also got the first single from ‘Broken Rainbow’, a collaboration between a local artist and a musician in Arizona!

On Spotlight this evening we’re looking ahead to the Isle of Man Film Festival! We’ll be joined by two of the festival directors, Dark Avenue's Bethany White and Patrick Crellin who have some special treats in store at their event tomorrow evening, and Liam Rice and Joshua Moore - stars of ‘Before You Go’ a locally-produced short film being screened on Sunday.

Find out more on Facebook or at isleofmanfilmfestival.com

This week we hear from artists, organisers and officials involved in the Isle of Man Arts Council’s exhibition and book Ellyn – a tale of contemporary art. To get hold of your copy of the book, just get in touch with the Isle of Man Arts Council by emailing [email protected] or calling 694598

The exhibition is open daily from 10-4 until Sunday 10 October in the Villa Marina Arcade just next door to the Gaiety Theatre

This week, I'm finding out about a unique project featuring the work of over 60 Island artists in the form of a book and an exhibition which opens in less than two weeks time. Project creator, the Arts Council’s Arts Graduate Intern Olivia Savage will be joining me in the studio to tell us more about 'Ellyn – a Tale of Contemporary Art'

This week, we’re meeting two of the three students awarded grants by the Isle of Man Arts Council to assist with their studies in creative fields – Kizzie Puzzar has been awarded The Isle of Man Arts Council Award and will be studying for a BA (Hons) in the Music Business and Event Management at the BIMM Institute (British and Irish Modern Music) in Brighton, and Joshua Morrison has been awarded The Jonathan Gollow Award for Performing Arts has been awarded to Joshua Morrison, who will be attending the Rambert Conservatoire in London to study for his degree in Ballet and Contemporary Dance. The only person missing from the line-up was Jack Gentry who receives The Norman Sayle Award for Visual Art and Literature, and will be attending Cardiff Metropolitan University for a BA (Hons) degree in Product Design - we hope to catch up with Jack soon!

This week we wend our way round Peel, speaking to a whole host of local artists exhibiting their work as part of the Creative Network's Isle of Man Art Festival