Local artists are being offered an outlet for work created during the current social restrictions.

The Isle of Man Arts Council are creating an online project, entitled ’Home is Where the Art Is’ and is offering a chance for artists, musicians, poets and dancers to submit videos of work they are producing during the ’lockdown’ period and will go towards creating a record of the unusual times we are experiencing today.

The intention of the ’Home is Where the Art is’ project is to celebrate creation in isolation and boost wellbeing and to mark 31 days of creation in self-isolation, and the videos can be of any art form, including music, art, poetry, drama and dance.

Each piece must be either original, inspirational, educational or interactive, or a combination of all four.

Submitted videos will be assessed by a panel of experts, including members of the Arts Council, and the creator of each video accepted onto the project will be awarded £100.

The project is set to run throughout May, with videos being uploaded everyday on Arts Council social media channels throughout the month.

The chariman of the Isle of Man Arts Council, Marlene Maska MLC, said that the enforced social restrictions have denied many of the island’s artists the chance to exhibit their work and to carry out community workshops and arts lessons, and that ’Home is Where the Art is’ aims to help keep Manx arts and culture alive and to support local creatives.

’At a time of social distancing, when artists are often unable to perform or exhibit, we aim to help uplift the mental health and wellbeing of our community by using the internet and social media to keep our culture alive and support our creative artists through this difficult period,’ said Marlene.

More details on the ’Home is Where the Art is’ project is available from iomarts.com and interested parties can register by emailing [email protected]