On 14 January 2025, the Isle of Man Post issued a series of stamps dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Isle of Man Arts Council.

The Isle of Man Arts Council was founded in 1965 to support and develop the local creative scene. Over 60 years, it has become the driving force behind many cultural initiatives, funding exhibitions and performances, supporting artists and musicians, and conducting educational projects. At the same time, the Council does not simply subsidise the arts - it generally shapes the cultural environment of the Isle of Man.

The series of 10 postage stamps has become a reflection of the rich cultural and artistic life of the island. The stamps represent all the main areas of the Arts Council's work: theatre performances and exhibitions, concerts, music and dance, sculpture, visual and community art, as well as educational projects.

The design of the stamps was developed by the Isle of Man Advertising studio. The images on the stamps are “snapshots” of art: from classical theatre to contemporary murals, from brass bands to street installations. Photographers including Jade Boylan, John Mulvey, Hannah Yewell and others managed to capture the lively atmosphere of creativity, and the artists preserved it in the graphics of the postage stamps. According to Sarah Maltby, Chairman of the Council, this series is a visual demonstration of joy and proof of how art shapes the cultural identity of the island.

One of the 90p stamps dedicated to community art depicts a carousel horse from Silverdale Glen. The carousel in Silverdale Glen is not just an amusement park, but a local historical landmark. Built in 1911, it is the only working water carousel in the British Isles. The mechanism that turns the carousel is not powered by electricity, but by the flow of water coming through a small sluice from the Silverburn River. To start the carousel and give children a ride, one of the adults needs to turn a special lever that opens the valve in the sluice and lets water flow to the water wheel. Incidentally, the water wheel itself was previously used in the Foxdale mines, and after their closure it was moved to Silverdale, where it found a “second life” by becoming the engine of the carousel and a source of children's joy.

The original wooden horse figures, made back in the late 19th century, have been regularly carrying little riders on their backs for many years. However, over the past decades, the figures have become very dilapidated and in 2007 they were replaced with more durable and long-lasting plastic copies. At the same time, one original carousel horse was carefully restored and is now kept in the Isle of Man Museum.

In 2022, the Arts Council initiated a restoration of the carousel figures. The work was carried out by local artists, performing under the creative pseudonym Sneaky Weasel. They repainted the horses, breathing into them the brightness and liveliness of the Victorian era. By the way, at the initiative of the artists, during the restoration process, all the horses were given their own names, they were chosen by online voting. So the horse that ended up on the stamp was called Fenella. The author of the photograph, which was used to create the postage miniature, is Susie Walker, the coordinator of art projects on the Isle of Man and a passionate fan of local art. Her photo of the carousel horses conveys the atmosphere of a summer holiday, childish joy and the leisurely pace of island life. The stamp seems to invite us to ride a carousel in time, where the past and the present meet in color, shape and movement.

This very colourful series of postage stamps is a living chronicle of the cultural life of the Isle of Man, worthy of a place in your collection.