Artist profile
Ioney Smallhorne
Ioney is a writer, poet, performer and educator from Nottingham. Her craft is ignited by my Jamaican heritage, fueled by the tapestry of the Black British experiences. She is an alumni of Goldsmith College’s MA in Creative Writing & Education, Obsidian 2023, and is an Inscribe writer.
Shortlisted for the Caribbean Small-Axe prize 2016, and for the Sky Arts/Royal Society of Literature Fiction Award 2021. Winner of the Writing East Midlands/Serendipity Black Ink Writing Competition 2021 and longlisted for the Moniak Mhor, Emerging Writer award 2024. She was the 2022 New Art Exchange resident artist. Find her writing in Glimpse, (Peepal Tree Press, 2019) a Black British speculative fiction anthology, In The Middle (Dahlia Press, 2025) Spin, (Ottar Barry Books 2024), children’s poetry anthology.
Ioney is currently working on a debut children’s poetry collection and a speculative fiction short story collection. She is a part time English teacher in Further Education.
”I’m thrilled to join Vital Spark. This is an opportunity where an idea can glow, breathe, and gather power. I deeply value the care Spark gives its artists, and being selected feels both encouraging and affirming; a reminder that our work matters. In this space, supported by a community of makers, I’ll develop The Spirit of Hurricane: a spoken-word-led, multidisciplinary scratch piece that braids Caribbean myth, pulse and rhythm, ancestral knowledge, and a call to guard the earth that holds us.
Ioney SmallhorneIdeas Fund Artist
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The Vital Spark behind everything we do
We believe that all children should be able to experience arts and culture, and that they should be able to see themselves represented in these experiences. This is not yet the case for every child and we’re committed to changing that.
Our response is Vital Spark, and it's at the heart of everything we do. Vital Spark is about challenging and changing the lack of diversity in children’s arts and culture; it’s about diverse-led artistic decision making; it’s about not being afraid to stand up for what’s right.
We do this by supporting artists who are currently underrepresented in children’s arts and culture. We also work with partner organisations to create world-class opportunities for these artists and share best practice.
