Arts
Important Announcement
Friday 22 September 2023, The Victorian Hall will also be closed all day for a private function. The Fine Foundation Dorset Story Space, next the the Thomas Hardy's Dorset Gallery will also be closed for an hour around Midday.

September 15, 2023
Life Drawing at Dorset Museum – Eight-week course led by James Meiklejohn
This eight-week structured course is suitable for complete beginners to those with some experience.
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September 15, 2023
Museums After Dark 2023
Discover three incredible Dorchester museums on one unforgettable night.
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September 14, 2023
Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within
Experience the inner world of famous sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993) in a major new exhibition exploring her artistic and personal life in Dorset. Showcasing over 80 sculptures, drawings and prints, this exhibition will explore her artistic process, personal life, and the influences that shaped her work.
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September 6, 2023
What’s new in the British and Irish Neolithic? | Dr Alison Sheridan
While the past doesn’t change, our knowledge and understanding of it are being transformed by new discoveries and new research – and this is especially the case with the Neolithic period, the time of the first farming communities from the late 5th millennium to around 2500 BCE. This lecture offers some highlights from the past decade or so.
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August 20, 2023
Nature Heals | Photography Screening
Join us for a mindful moment at the Corn Exchange. Drop in and relax in front of a superb display of nature photography by Trevor Parsons, shown on a loop on our giant projection screen and accompanied by beautiful music and nature soundtrack.
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August 19, 2023
‘Rewilding’ later prehistory: Archaeological wildlife and its role in contemporary nature recovery | Anwen Cooper
Climate change and biodiversity loss are, understandably, of growing interest to a wide cross-section of people. David Attenborough’s recent ‘Wild Isles’ series both awakened us to the magical wildlife of the British Isles and warned us of its extreme fragility.
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August 19, 2023
Traditions and Transitions: The Story of the Chettle Grave Group | Sophia Adams
A locally made wine strainer, an old mirror and a blue glass jar perhaps from Cologne. These are just three of the eight artefacts found in 2003, buried together on land within Chettle Park, Dorset.
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July 20, 2023
Reimagining Roundhouses | Trevor Creighton
In this special lecture for the 2024 Festival of Archaeology, Trevor Creighton will discuss the way in which we have come to form our ideas of what late prehistoric roundhouses were like, and why we need to reimagine them.
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July 20, 2023
Paul Nash in Dorset | Professor Paul Gough
This richly illustrated lecture explores over 80 Paul Nash artworks created from the mid-1930s until his death in 1946. They range from ancient places such as Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to the limestone promontories and fossilised forests on the Purbeck coast.
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