Dorset Art Weeks Returns
13 May 2024
Dorset Art Weeks returns between 25 May - 9 June this year. There’s much to celebrate as it’s the first full Dorset Art Weeks event since 2018, which sees 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 will appear in cultural outlets across Wessex from April. The Guide will be available in the familiar, A5 landscape format with full venue details so audiences can plan their visits. This will be accompanied by the Dorset Art Weeks App, now available, which can be used to navigate to venues, create your own ‘favourites’ list, and find nearby venues. There’s 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.
DVA is delighted to be working again with Hall & Woodhouse Pubs as the event’s lead sponsor. As part of the event, there will be a residency programme to support emerging 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 celebrates the county’s unique biodiversity in a partnership with Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve. ‘The Instinct of Hope’ examines Dorset’s rich and precious ecology, focussing on the locations and terrain that artists explore which make the county so distinctive.
Another feature of this year’s event will be the launch exhibition at The Sherborne, Dorset’s brand new venue for the visual arts which opens 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 will open 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 are also pop ups, group shows, curated exhibitions and projects. Artists across the whole county will be unveiling new work and sharing their ideas and inspiration, often in surprising or yet-to-be-discovered places. Visitors can enjoy 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 and plan your visit!
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