Special Display
Quiet Revolutions
22 January – 27 March 2022
Artist’s Dorset Gallery
Work inspired by Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland
Quiet Revolutions, a display of ceramic pieces inspired by the lives of Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland, will run from 22 January – 27 March 2022 in the Museum’s Artists’ Dorset gallery, coinciding with February’s LGBT+ History month.
The display of five works by Bristol-based artist Amanda Chambers form an ‘intervention’ within a section of the gallery devoted to the artistic and literary Chaldon Herring community. Novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) and poet Valentine Ackland (1906-1969) were part of this community, and it was here that they fell in love and became life partners.
Leading a rich life of literary and political pursuits, Sylvia and Valentine lived through an intense period of the 20th century. However, it is largely the domestic sphere of their lives which inform the six ceramic works being displayed. Living openly together in rural Dorset in the early 1930s, Sylvia and Valentine shared a deep-rooted commitment to each other despite extreme challenges – notably the prospect of a three-way relationship with author Elizabeth Wade White, and Valentine’s struggle with alcoholism, which she endured for several decades in secret. The works highlight the immense resilience shown by both women during their partnership.
-
Opening hours:
Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm -
-
Amanda Chambers
Amanda Chambers (Picture Credit Max McClure)
Amanda Chambers is a multidisciplinary artist, and the primary focus of her work is making connections to the past through an exploration of both found material and imaginary concepts. She is often stimulated by textual and archival sources and has worked with some of the most significant museum collections in the UK. She is an Academician at the Royal West of England Academy and a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Her interest in Warner and Ackland began in 2013, and in 2014 she produced a series of works inspired by their lives.
Visit websiteWhat's On
18 February - 22 June 2023
The Art of Seeing: An exhibition of photographs by Dorchester Camera Club
The Club is delighted to have this opportunity to exhibit some of their members’ prints in the Dorset Museum together with an audio-visual presentation.
Find out more22 March - 25 June 2023
ARTIST ROOMS Louise Bourgeois
Explore the work of Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010), one of the most important figures of modern and contemporary art. This spring Dorset Museum will show a major presentation of her work in this ARTIST ROOMS touring exhibition featuring works jointly owned by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.
Find out more29 March - 9 July 2023
PJ Harvey – Orlam
Dorset Museum is now displaying an archive of material relating to PJ Harvey’s verse novel Orlam.
Find out more10 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more17 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more21 June 2023, 2:00pm - 2:45pm
Collections Discovery Centre Tour
Join our Collections Team for an opportunity to explore behind the scenes in the Museum’s Collections Discovery Centre.
Find out more22 June 2023, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
FREE | Museum After Hours
Join us for an opportunity to explore the Museum at this FREE late opening.
Find out more22 June 2023, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
ORIGINS: How the Earth Shaped Human History | Professor Lewis Dartnell
By taking us through millennia of human history, and billions of years into our planet’s past, Professor Lewis Dartnell tells us the ultimate origin story.
Find out more24 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more