Island Artcast Radio Manx Ltd / Isle of Man Arts Council

IOM women in the arts . . . in this episode a chat with former RGS student, Lighting Director and designer Franki McDade

On today's episode, Olivia sits down with POCIOM (People of Colour Isle of Man) members, Elsa and Haafizah to discuss racism on the Isle of Man and particularly, the importance of accepting, respecting and representing different cultures within the workplace. From their own experiences growing up on the Isle of Man to inherent biases, to what the workplace could do to encourage diverse representation.

This week is an Arts Council special! Olivia and her colleagues, Martyn and Grainney are all professional creatives and regularly navigate their jobs at the Arts Council alongside their second lives outside of work. On today’s show, Olivia and her guests come together to unpick what it means to “find your style” as a creative. From the search for inspiration to pushing your personality, to whether you can ever really find your niche on the never ending journey of making and creating.

Olivia is joined by two designers working under their own brands, Molly Wade and Alexandra Groover, to discuss sustainability in the fashion industry. It is no secret that the fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the world for both brands and consumers. Together, Olivia and her guests will unravel what is really going on with fast fashion and what social media is doing wrong when it comes to promoting eco-friendly trends, along with tips and tricks for listeners as to how you can shop sustainably.

Welcome to Part 2 of our Pride episodes! This June, we dedicated our 2 shows of the month to raising awareness about LGBTQ+ on the Isle of Man. In part one, Olivia sat down with Jenni Smith, Kara Varetto and Mathea Lace to talk about their experiences of growing up as LGBTQ+ on the Island and the strengths and struggles that came with that. In today's episode, the discussion continues and this time, Olivia and her guests discuss how creativity helped them explore their identity, find friends for life within the community and helped them all to deliver important messages about LGBTQ+ to the public and therefore spark challenging and progressive discussions.

Olivia is joined by 3 creatives who all identify within LGBTQ+: Jenni Smith, Kara Varetto and Mathea Lace and they have come on to share their experiences of growing up within LGBTQ+ on the Isle of Man. All 3 of my guests have been on challenging but empowering journeys that has brought them to where they are today and each story demonstrates an honest representation of where the Island has been both progressive and unaccepting when it comes to supporting LGBTQ+. This is a really special 2 part episode, where part 2 will be released later this month to address further how creativity can help a person explore their identity and can be used as a medium to reach out to and help others in need.