Housework
20 March 2024
Dorset Visual Arts presents Housework, the latest exhibition curated for The Sherborne, a landmark new arts venue for Dorset. ‘Housework’ will bring together work created during the previous arts programme at Sherborne House, 1996 to 2008, which was led by a dedicated team of artists who supported the Sherborne House Trust to develop the building as a centre for the visual arts. The exhibition will showcase works that have documented and responded to Sherborne House’s past or where it was a catalyst for exciting projects and new commissions exploring both historical and contemporary arts practice.
Time Passing by Karen Hitchlock
The exhibition is being curated by Amanda Wallwork, an artist and curator based in Dorset, in association with Evolver Magazine. Amanda Wallwork was artist in residence at Sherborne House in 2003 and went on to become Artistic Director for Sherborne House Arts working with a team of artists to develop the arts programme until the House closed in 2008.
‘Housework’ will include photographs, textiles, paintings, and installations across the ground and first floors of The Sherborne inviting visitors to explore the different rooms and find out about its past and the recent dramatic restoration of the house. The drawing room invites the audience to browse archive material and a White Room Art Café event makes full use of the new restaurant and pavilion area. ‘Housework’ will suggest the many possibilities for the building's future and potential as an important arts destination.
Nine Rooms by Amanda Wallwork
Dorset Visual Arts are also launching the new Sculpture Garden at The Sherborne. Curated by Sandy Kirkby, this sculptural appetiser features a diverse range of media and approaches to form by Dorset based sculptors and those from further afield.
The Sherborne has been generously enabled by The Cannon Foundation and will have a regularly changing visual arts programme in the house and grounds, as well as a restaurant, bar, retail offer and workspaces. Sherborne House has a long association with arts and culture, from its literary links with Macready and Charles Dickens, its use as a school and more recent past as a gallery and art café. The Grade 1 listed Georgian building is home to the nationally-important Thornhill Mural, which has also been restored. To complete the picture, the work has also seen the construction of a brand new pavilion which will host a variety of events, including film screenings. The terraced grounds and courtyard areas will feature sculpture as well as outdoor performances.
Dorset Visual Arts are the chosen lead arts partner for The Sherborne and have initiated a programme of high profile exhibitions to run through 2024 featuring the best of Dorset artists and makers. As Sherborne and Dorset are put firmly on the art map, the programme will expand and evolve through 2025 to include and attract work from further afield, alongside regional talent, as the project’s reputation grows.
‘Housework’ will be open to the public at the end of April and will run until Saturday 13th July, Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 5pm, Sunday 11am - 4pm. Entry to the exhibition is free, however booking is required. Booking available soon. More information about The Sherborne can be found at thesherborne.uk.
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