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Young People Set To Transform Ventnor Shop Into Space For Music And Creativity

A creative tour de force will help young people transform a Ventnor shop next month.

At a recent Dragons Den selection process, young people from Ventnor-based creative platform Brave Island chose Jess Ong to help them turn an empty shop into a creative space in the town.

How the space is developed will be decided by the Brave Island group, who will work alongside Jess to bring their plans to fruition.

Jess said:

"I am so excited to have been chosen to support this project.

“I have seen first-hand how giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills and be creative in a safe and inclusive environment can help set them on a healthier and happier path of life.


The empty shop in Ventnor is currently in a state of disrepair

“With my eclectic experience in music, art and heritage workshops, I hope to be able to encourage the Brave Island participants to follow their passions, and help them bring to life their ideas for the vacant shop.

"I can't wait to see what they come up with!"

The month-long transformation, taking place through March, will be the third place-changing commission launched on the Island as part of the Artswork-funded Supporting Young Minds programme.


Jess Ong (right) with members of Brave Island

The Sandown and Lake Youth Forum, supported by Community Action Isle of Wight and working with filmmaker Bruce Webb, premiered its film about the challenges and benefits of living in the Bay area as a young person earlier this month.

Meanwhile the Newport Youth Forum, based at Independent Arts, is busy creating an art trail around Newport, working with artist Laura Hathaway.

Young people wanting to be part of the project still have time to sign up via the Brave Island website.

Supporting Young Minds is managed by Isle of Wight arts for wellbeing charity Independent Arts, on behalf of The Island Collection and the Isle of Wight CEP, in collaboration with Artswork.

It is part of a larger region-wide programme supporting young people’s mental health through creativity.

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