Dorset Art Weeks
Dorset Art Weeks will return 23 May - 7 June 2026.
The 2024 event ran between 25 May - 9 June. There was much to celebrate with the first full Dorset Art Weeks event since 2018, and the return of a full programme of activities including workshops, talks, demonstrations, have-a-go and other events to excite and engage audiences.
This much-loved cultural event is one of the largest and longest-established Art Weeks events in the country. It’s a chance to visit the source of the inspiration behind the work of hundreds of artists and makers, and explore the boundless creativity that the county has to offer.
With a revised and refreshed event for 2024, 30,000 copies of the popular Dorset Art Weeks Guide were distributed in cultural outlets across Wessex from April. The Guide was available in the familiar, A5 landscape format with full venue details for audiences to plan their visits, accompanied by the Dorset Art Weeks App, which can be used to navigate to venues, create your own ‘favourites’ list, and find nearby venues. There was also an interactive map and Art Weeks flipbook on the Dorset Art Weeks website, with all the information you need in one place, making information about the event more accessible for more people. If you missed anything, many artists may still be available to visit by appointment.
DVA is delighted to continue working with Hall & Woodhouse Pubs as the event’s lead sponsor. As part of the event, DVA re-ran its succesful residency programme to support two artists at Hall & Woodhouse’s home at the Brewery Tap in the heart of the county in Blandford Forum.
As DVA declares a climate emergency, a new exhibition curated by DVA and featuring Dorset artists celebrated the county’s unique biodiversity in a partnership with Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve. ‘The Instinct of Hope’ examined Dorset’s rich and precious ecology, focussing on the locations and terrain that artists explore which make the county so distinctive.
The 2024 event also marked the launch exhibition at The Sherborne, Dorset’s brand new venue for the visual arts which opened in spring, after undergoing a stunning restoration and transformation. ‘Housework’, curated by Amanda Wallwork explores the previous incarnation of Sherborne House as an arts venue through a variety of artwork which relate to the building, its rooms, and shared history. Selected works, interspersed in various rooms and locations, not only invite the visitor to explore the house but also suggest the many possibilities for the building's future and potential as an important arts destination, where DVA is the lead arts partner.
Over 260 venues opened their studio doors to welcome eager art lovers and those curious to discover more about Dorset’s creative community. As well as individual studios, there were also pop ups, group shows, curated exhibitions and projects. Artists across the whole county unveiled new work and shared their ideas and inspiration, often in surprising or yet-to-be-discovered places. Visitors enjoyed printmaking, painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, jewellery, wood, metalwork, glass and textiles as well as many other artforms and processes.
Dorset Art Weeks continues to celebrate the best of Dorset as a county of culture.
Keep an eye on the Dorset Visual Arts and Dorset Art Weeks websites and social channels for regular updates, including registering interest for the 2026 event and many other activities and opportunites to support Dorset artists and makers.