Opening this Saturday (8th November 2025) at Quay Arts with a puppet-making workshop led by Teresa Grimaldi, is It’s No Ordinary Town, an exhibition in the Clayden Gallery, highlighting the 12-month programme of work at Sandown’s Boojum&Snark, supported by Arts Council England.
Pushing boundaries and shifting perceptions, the programme featured a range of projects from creating modern myths and reviving folklore to utopian dreaming.
The year-long activity included artist residencies, the development of partnerships, and extensive public workshops designed to encourage creative writing and alternative printmaking techniques.
Mikich: We know it’s a town like no other
Tracy Mikich, Creative Director of Boojum and Snark, said,
“Sandown may have made national headlines this year as a town ‘ left to rot ,’ but we know it’s a town like no other.
“It’s steeped in quirky history and culture, with a community that wades knee-deep in mud to save carp, swims in the sea all year round, and goes all out for carnival.
“This year of unique, place-based projects has certainly been entertaining, but it has also sparked meaningful conversations and partnerships.
“As always, we’re inspired by Sandown.”
About Boojum&Snark
Boojum&Snark is a creative arts space in Sandown on the Isle of Wight, at the forefront of place-based cultural projects. Since its founding in 2019, it has provided a venue for community-led initiatives, innovative programmes and cultural events.
Dedicated to nurturing creativity and developing talent, the organisation focuses on collaborative work that shifts perceptions and contributes to the town’s conversations. So far, they’ve partnered with over 30 creative practitioners and offered opportunities to hundreds of people of all ages.
CHUFFLE – a Tiger Tale
The programme started with ‘CHUFFLE – a Tiger Tale‘, which created a new story about how Sandown Bay got her stripes. The story, which explores themes of loss and acceptance, was researched and written by Tracy Mikich in partnership with Anmarie Bowler, founder of Brevity, the Isle of Wight’s literary handbill, and poet Maggie Sawkins.
It was illustrated by Teresa Grimaldi and printed by Tommy Brentnall. The story addresses complex subject matters, motivated by the idea of introducing loss and bereavement to children in a sensitive way to help them navigate the feelings that come with it.
Chuffle was accompanied by an exhibition of artworks by unaccompanied children seeking asylum, a Brussels-based project, as well as thought-provoking images by award-winning photojournalist Giles Clarke.
Visitor to the exhibition, Cathy from Sussex, said,
“I was moved by such a striking exhibition on Sandown High Street, it was the last thing I expected.
“Thank you.”
Chuffle also gave the community opportunities for creative writing. Led by Anmarie Bowler of Brevity, a series of flash fiction workshops nurtured a new generation of myth-makers. Participants created their own stories, some of which were performed at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival.
The Sandown Clown
The next artist residency took us into the high-strange world of folklore. The Sandown Clown, also known as All Colours Sam, is a spectacularly detailed and bizarre encounter that two children had in 1973 near the Sandown golf course. It was investigated by the British UFO Journal and featured in their 1978 issue.
Since then, it has gained a following around the world; most recently, comedian Daisy May Cooper featured it in her book Hexy Witch and during a podcast with Adam Buxton, but it remains relatively unknown in its hometown.
To bring this UFO-folklore to life, artist Teresa Grimaldi co-created a giant puppet with the community that took part in the Sandown Carnival, parading with a curious assortment of characters from the sighting, including Fay, Unknown Boy, Workman 1 & 2, and Mr Y.
Teresa also created a wonderfully strange installation called ‘Windowless Hut’ that could only be seen from a peephole at Boojum&Snark.
Teresa said,
”The Sandown Clown story connects with me on so many levels. Of course, I have a clown name, so that’s one!
“Playing amateur detective with a team of ‘special agents’ around the evidence board was a lot of fun, revealing new lines of enquiry and deeper human connections – we seriously considered Ringo Starr and David Essex as prime suspects.
“There have been so many highlights, including co-creating a giant puppet of Sam with the community and becoming characters in a celebratory pageant that reached a wide audience.
“With the Sandown Clown placed so firmly on the High Street, I became an eavesdropper, listening to snippets from passers by who were looking for—and finding—Sam. I particularly loved seeing people’s faces light up as they peeped through the ‘Windowless Hut’ installation.
“It was amazing to see young people, in particular, travel from all over the Island to encounter the Clown, bringing a new energy to Sandown that we can build upon. Let the myth-making continue!”
Sandown Survival Residency
Sandown Survival, an artist residency with Tommy Brentnall, was the final instalment of the project. Inspired by Darwin’s On the Origin of Species , which he began whilst staying in Sandown, Tommy’s residency was all about imagining what Sandown could evolve into.
Through workshops, open days, and drop-in sessions, Tommy gained many ideas and a sense of what people hoped and wished for. Participants produced vivid posters and news about everything from a jellyfish council to human banishment to the abandoned cargo ships permanently docked in the Bay.
For Survival, Tommy also created a series of stunning pastel drawings that envision a future Sandown Hive community, working and living together in a state of blue-mind harmony.
Tommy said,
“I’ve really enjoyed working on a sustained project, engaging with the community in a meaningful way over a period of time.
“It’s been cool to bridge connections between different sectors of the community.
“I’ve found it’s helped me to develop new ways of looking at people and places.”
As part of the project, Tommy and Anmarie Bowler also created the Sandown Tarot, a placemaking divination tool. This unique tarot deck features 24 cards with illustrations by Tommy and stories by Anmarie on the back.
Anmarie said,
“Calling on flash fiction and illustration to predict the future of Sandown might seem unlikely, even awkward.
“But it developed into a natural writing process, as newspaper headlines, snippets of conversation, historical research and time spent in Sandown blended to tell both hopeful and cautionary tales about this less-than-ordinary place.
“Each story is an invitation to think about aspects of Sandown – a pier, a hotel, sparkling sea, children, the sun, rumour; things that make it a place of possibilities.
“A deck of cards alone won’t change a town’s fortunes but it could serve as a kind of hand-held charm that reminds us that prediction + action = our future.”
Ultimately, It’s No Ordinary Town is a testament to what happens when we shift our perspective from what is lost to what can be created.
Through myth-making, folklore, and collaborative dreaming, this exhibition demonstrates that Sandown’s revival is not just a hope for the future but a creative conversation happening right now, driven by its vibrant and resilient community.
Where and when
The exhibition runs from 8th to 29th November 2025, open daily 9am-4pm, free entrance.
Teresa Grimaldi’s Drop-In Family Fun: Make Your Own Alien Clown Puppet event takes place on Saturday 8th November between 10am–1pm.
Drop in anytime to:
- Create your own alien clown puppet as a family
- Use colourful, eco-friendly craft materials
- Add your puppet to the Alien Clown Parade Wall or take it home
- Explore the It’s No Ordinary Town exhibition while you’re here
All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
News shared by Tracy on behalf of Boojum and Snark. Ed
