ISLAND UTOPIAS
Island Utopias is a feature length film, using art, music and film to bring to life a better future.
A combination of cut-up interviews with the public carried out during Covid19 Lockdown, layered with visuals of artists creating works inspired by these voice collages, accompanied by newly-composed piano pieces complimenting the themes and ideas of each of the 12 parts, create a moving tapestry of ideas, slow-moving and deeply impactful. Island Utopias is a mesmerising experience which transports us into new spaces of thought and seeing.
Created by Sarah Mercer, the idea started at the beginning of 2020, with interviews with people from all walks of life, re-imagining what they thought an ideal future for the Isle of Man might look like. Over lockdown these took new life and they were cut up into themed sound collages which were then given out to twelve of the most exciting artists in the Isle of Man today. They each made a piece of art reflecting on the words and created a short film of their process.
Over the top of this has been added new themed compositions by Matthew Warren, especially created for this collaboration, interweaving traditional Manx music with other subtle links, perfectly augmenting the mood of the other elements of the film.
The film premiered at a live event at the Erin Arts Centre Isle of Man, accompanied live by Matthew Warren, the composer. There was an exhibition of the Utopia artwork, and time to see the pieces in closer detail and talk to the artists before watching the film. There was also a brief talk from Sarah Mercer about the background of the project, and what it aims to do.
The film was also shown at a private screening for the UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man Stakeholder Partnership Group, including a more in depth talk by Sarah Mercer.
The film is accessible for free, and we encourage you to share it far and wide!
This film was produced by Sarah Mercer / Culture Vannin in 2020.
ARTISTS FEATURED
● Karolina Pawlowska
● Hannah Radcliffe
● Rebecca Odessa
● Will Morris
● Daniel Price
● Bethany White
● Ellie Baker
● Anna Clucas
● Betty Laurincova
● Collette Davies
● Billy Redgrave
● Janet Lees
Music by Matthew Warren
Additional music by Scott Buckley, Andy Virgil North & Glastyn
Drone footage by Frank Pijpstra
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WHAT'S NEXT?
Island Utopias has expanded past its original conception a film. It has been the feature of several talks on the value of Utopian thinking in creating a better world, and has fed into a planned research project on the Isle of Man on the sociology of Utopian thinking, led by Matthew Warren, visiting researcher at the University College Isle of Man.
The concepts explored in the research that went into the project, and seen in the outcomes, are feeding into future workshops discussing how blue sky thinking is a necessary aspect of change. Keep an eye out for future courses, such as this one at the University College Isle of Man.
ISLAND UTOPIAS IN THE MEDIA
GREEN PARTY CONFERENCE IN CASTLETOWN NEXT WEEK
11th October 2020 | Manx Radio
"'Hemp, foraging and sustainability' on agenda. The Isle of Man Green Party is holding the second conference in its history next week (17 Oct).
The public event, which is at the Civic Centre in Castletown, is billed as a chance to hear from 'inspiring individuals' on the Island, on a range of subjects. Speakers include Sarah Mercer on 'Island Utopias', Bob Comish on 'the Manx Hemp Campaign', and Pippa Lovell on 'What She Found'."
GREEN PARTY TO HOLD ANNUAL CONFERENCE
10th October 2020 | Isle of Man Today Newspaper
"The conference would give members and the public to engage with what the Green Party called ’fundamentally important concepts’ such as creating bold visions for our future’, changing politics, legalising hemp and ’foraging for local produce and eating sustainably’.
Starting at 1.45, the conference will at 2pm hear from Sarah Mercer, who is talking about ’Island Utopias - Thinking big on a small island’..."
UCM HOLDS FESTIVAL OF RESEARCH
1st October 2020 | Isle of Man Today Newspaper
"University college Isle of Man’s second annual Festival of Research saw a large turnout of students and members of the public coming together to listen to applied academic discussions.
Sarah Mercer from Culture Vannin discussed ’Island Utopias’, and people’s hopes and fears for the future."
SHARING A VISION OF AN ISLAND UTOPIA
14th September 2020 | Isle of Man Today Newspapers
"A unique exhibition to set out a series of visions and ideals on how the island could look in the future is set to open for one day later this month.
The exhibition will feature the work of 12 Manx artists, who created pieces of art work based on interviews carried out over the past few months about people’s own visions and ideas for how they would like the island to be in a post-Covid-19 landscape..."
ISLAND UTOPIAS PROJECT UNVEILED
3rd September 2020 | UNESCO Biosphere IOM
"Culture Vannin's UNESCO Biosphere intern Sarah Mercer has led a project called Island Utopias, seeking views from across the community about what the Isle of Man could look like in the future, post Covid-19, and commissioning artists to interpret this.
The work is unveiled at an event this month. Sarah updates us and invites us along..."
YOUR IDEAL ISLE OF MAN
1st September 2020 | Manx Radio
"Sarah Mercer from Culture Vannin and Unesco Biosphere Isle of Man tells Christy about the "Island Utopias" project, where #Manx residents shared what their ideal #IsleofMan would look like..."
ISLAND UTOPIA DREAMS
3rd July 2020 | 3FM Radio
"WATCH: Dream up your own Island Utopia with Culture Vannin #iom #news #morethanradio"
DOCUMENTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
4th December 2019 | Isle of Man Today Newspaper
"The way the island’s culture is changing because of climate change is now being documented.
Sarah Mercer, a graduate from Durham University, is recording issues relating to the environmental crisis and the island’s position as a..."
