Brave Island Zine Volume 3 - Another Day in Paradise
Welcome to the Brave Island Zine!
We’re thrilled to share this collection of creativity from the talented young artists of the Isle of Wight. Featuring the work of under 25s who submitted their photography, artwork and creative writing.
It’s the third edition in the lead up to our new Brave Island Festival taking place in Sandown on Saturday 10th October. It’s going to be all about celebrating young people. Make sure you’re signed up to our website to find out more and get involved.
A massive thank you goes out to all our contributors, and to Jasmine Metta Truman, who masterfully edited this entire publication. We’re so grateful for all of your hard work!
If you’d like to see your own art in print, submissions are now open for our next edition, Volume 4 - “Can you hear us?” Deadline: Sunday 6th September 2026
Visit Braveisland.uk for details!
Brave Island’s Guide to:
Ventnor Fringe Festival
Gigi Fitz
Interview with: Poppy Morris
Interview with: Fugo Kid
Isabelle Cambray
Kira Lacey
Spotlight On: Eleanor Hughes
Brave Island’s Guide to:
From Friday 17th to Sunday 26th July, Ventnor is completely transformed by Ventnor Fringe. We’re talking gigs, secret shows, comedy, theatre, and pop-up venues taking over the town. Started by local young people and now in its 17th year, it still has that homegrown vibe.
Ventnor Fringe is an alternative to major festivals, you can choose your own experience without the huge ticket prices. You might not have heard many of the names before, but it’s your chance to try something new and gain bragging rights for discovering artists early. Did you know The Maccabees once did a DJ set at the Fringe?
We know a 10 day festival across a whole town can be a lot to wrap your head around, so we’ve broken down exactly how to navigate the Fringe for a low-cost, low-stress experience.
Where to hang out:
You don’t need to spend out to enjoy the Fringe. If you just want to meet up with friends and soak up the atmosphere without buying a ticket, head to these spots:
The Fringe Village (Ventnor Park): This is the main hub. It has bars, incredible street food, and free music all day. It feels like a mini-festival ground during the Fringe.
Ventnor Exchange: The headquarters of Brave Island and Ventnor Fringe. It’s a cafe/bar and record store, and the best place to ask for recommendations if you do want to buy some tickets.
What to watch:
There’s over 130 different shows, but we’ve chosen a few for you. If you only buy one or two tickets, make it these.
Club Lunar: The new beating heart of the festival. Discover secret circus, a cocktail bar, bands, DJs and a late night cabaret every night. Each evening you’ll find special guest headliners and an eclectic music policy spanning psych, reggae, swing, jazz, African, Latin and cumbia. Tickets from just £12, you can check out the full line up at vfringe.co.uk.
Pick of the Fringe: Fan of comedy but not sure who to watch? Join us for a packed night of stand up comedy from some of the funniest acts at this year’s Fringe, curated and hosted by Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Ahir Shah.
Police Cops: If theatre’s more your thing, don’t miss this globally-acclaimed comedy blockbuster. Expect adrenalinefuelled physical comedy, 80s bangers, and uncompromising facial hair.
Our Pro-Tips:
A lot of shows offer under-25 ticket discounts, and there are loads of totally free outdoor performances. Don’t let your bank account stop you from exploring.
We’re lucky to have a number of Brave Islanders doing work experience at the Fringe this year! If you’re interested in going backstage at future events like this and are aged between 14-25 make sure you’ve created your free account at Braveisland.uk!
Parking in Ventnor during the Fringe can be tricky, so use the bus or share a lift with friends. The Number 3 bus runs until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, just put ‘Ventnor Fringe’ into the Southern Vectis app to plan your journey. This year there are e-bikes to hire so you can get around the town, but if you need to drive then we recommend parking for the day and walking around to explore.
what is paradise?
i think it’s supposed to be perfection of a sort, gleaming, mythic, pristine.
i think it’s supposed to be unchanging, constant, predictable and easy. but, what is paradise to me?
i often describe where i live as alcatraz, but british so, worse. the antithesis of paradise.
it is too unchanging too much of the same too predictable too recognisable and hard to escape. yet,
in the summertime, i wake up to a choir of birds outside.
sometimes i walk out my door, and look up to see a robin hopping along the telephone line.
the other day i watched a blackbird cool itself down in a puddle of rainwater on our defunct hot tub.
i have lost count of the amount of red squirrels i have seen skittering across our fence.
i look up at night, expecting a pitch black void, and am often greeted by hundreds of stars.
do they still have those in london?
when i commute on the bus, i get lost in rolling fields full of baby sheep and fluffy cows.
there’s nary a time when i can’t see the sea twenty minutes after leaving my house.
paradise to me is the small moments that make me forget how to breathe.
even on alcatraz, wonder is free.
By Gigi Fitz
AN INTERVIEW WITH: Poppy Morris
You interviewed with us back in 2023. How has your creative practice changed (or stayed the same) since then?
Back in 2023 I was still studying at university, so since then, my creative pracice has changed massively. I’m still prone to a bit of impostor syndrome (as I’m sure many creatives are), however, I definitely feel much more confident in my creative process. I still love using watercolour and coloured pencil to create delicate pieces, but I’m enjoying creating looser works whilst continuing to play with texture and detail. Being back on the island I’ve been delving deeper into themes surrounding nature, as well as belonging and connection to place. Recently I’ve been learning to ‘relax’ more during my creative practice, having fun with creative expression and realising not everything has to look ‘perfect’. The great thing about art is it can look however you want it to.
You took part in a work experience placement through Brave Island, how did you find the experience?
I took part in the Heritage placement at Ventnor Heritage Centre. This was such an amazing experience, it gave me insight into working within the Heritge field, and caused me to think about how I can combine my passion for illustration into the role moving forward. I learnt a great deal in terms of caring for archives and accessioning artefacts, but I also met all the wonderful volunteers and learnt more about Ventnor as a town. This ultimately made me love and appreciate Ventnor even more. It was so amazing to gain experience in heritage work, where I otherwise may not have had the opportunity to, and it led to me working on other projects!
Are there any particular projects you’re working on or have coming up that you’re particularly excited about?
Yes! I’m currently involved in a project with Ventnor Enhancement Fund made possible by the ‘Past futures’ heritage fund, bringing a local telephone box back to life by exploring its incredible surrounding stories and history. I’m working on the research side as well as helping put the installment together.
I’m also working on building my own mail club project I put together in the Spring, where with each new season you can recieve a letter, seasonal task card and a range of illustrated extras. It sprouted from a passion to grow a community that was solely offline. Ultimately encouraging others to slow down in daily life, seek out face-to-face connection, spend less time online, and more time in nature, creating art and building connections. I’m excited to see how this grows and transforms over the coming months!
Where can people find your work if they’d like to support you?
You can find my work on Instagram @poppymorrisillustration and on my website www.poppymorrisillustration.co.uk
AN INTERVIEW WITH: Fugo Kid
How did you first get into making music?
I first got into making music in high school where I would mess around on the computers in the music rooms with my mates and we would make up some random tunes. Since then i’ve created more songs and explored more into my creativity.
How does recording your music in the studio compare to playing live?
All of my songs so far have been produced in my bedroom where things can feel chilled and stripped back, so it’s much different to arranging these songs for a live performance where i can experiment with the structure and the energy when playing live.
Who would be your number one dream artist to collaborate with?
I would probably choose to collaborate with Sampha or Daniel Caesar if I had the chance.
If somebody has never listened to your music before, where should they start?
For someone who has never heard my stuff before I would recommend listening to my latest EP “UFOs” which i think conveys my sound to the fullest.
How can people find your work if they’d like to support you?
You can find me on any major streaming platform as ‘Fugo Kid’ or on social media as @maybefugokid where you can keep up with any updates about my music. You can also come find me playing at Robin Hill on the 16th of August with my live band!
Isabelle Cambray
SPOTLIGHT ON: Eleanor Hughes Young Creative of the Month
Every month we give away £100 prize and feature a young artist on our website. We caught up with illustrator Eleanor Hughes, one of our featured artists from 2025, to find out what she’s been up to since her interview.
Last year I was featured in young creative of the month and spoke about my illustration style and what inspires it. I talked about my favourite artists and my theatre background, and how this all helped bring life to my creepy illustrated characters. Looking back, I had a lot of loose ideas for where I wanted to take my work but no real clear path. Since then, I have developed tunnelvision for a specific idea!
It started with an idea for a short scene based on my character Nora. The scene takes place in a sleepy town, built and painted with purples, blues and greens. There are lots of trees adorned with stylised flowers. And in the shadowy corners, strange characters move and squirm, causing the scene to buzz with hidden life. The flora and fauna would be made using different felted materials and clay, smooth and fuzzy textures.
After developing a short story set in this world, I started writing and drawing more storyboard comic strips, and now I have a few scenes I’d like to film. Because I am not a set builder, I am keen to team up with other artists to help me bring this scene to life. So, as of September I am moving to Cardiff to begin a Masters in Stage and Arts Management. This will teach me how to network and how to get funding for art or theatre projects. When I wrote about my plans in the Young Creative of the Month article last September, I said I wanted to do Film Masters.
However, since then I realised that I wanted to do something that would teach me about the industry; something broader, and that would give me a better chance of finding work afterwards.
I am pleased with the direction the work is headed and am excited to work with other artists in Cardiff. The idea may change and develop as time goes on, but I have a clearer artistic goal than I did last year. I am happy I looked back at my last Brave Island piece because it showed me how much has changed for me in the last 9 months. It’s a pipe dream so far, but the more I think about it, the more the idea grows and the stronger the belief that one day I could create it.
You can find Eleanor’s original interview, links to her socials, as well as all information on all of our other Young Creatives on the Brave Island Blog.
If you’d like to receive £100 to help with your creative practice, you can apply at BraveIsland.uk
Brave Island is not responsible for the views of its contributors. The copyright of the photos and articles published are of their authors. No part of this zine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.
