What's on in and around the Vale
Museums and Galleries
April 2008

From 22 March:
Who do you think they where? Little known Luminaries Beaminster Museum. 01308 862880.
1 - 30 April: Fra Newbery's Victorian Bridport. Bridport Museum, South Street, Bridport. 01308 422116. www.bridportmuseum.co.uk.

1 April - 5 May:
Fra H Newbery. A Dorset Trail painter of the 1920s paintings in the Bridport Town Hall. After studying at Bridport School of Art, he became an influential director of Glasgow School of Art in the 1880s and an internationally important figure in art education. He helped bring Charles Rennie Mackintosh and many other well-known artists to public recognitiion. He was also a talented painter in his own right. This exhibition, loaned from public and private art collections across the UK, spans his artistic career and includes some paintings never before publicily exhibited. As part of the Newberry Trail, two artists have worked with young people aged 5 to 17 on themes drawn from Fra Newbery's work. Bridport Arts Centre. 01308 424204.

2 April - 17 May:
Spring Exhibition Sue Bates, paintings; Ian Harris, ceramics; Mike Jackson, paintings. Acanthus Gallery, Wareham. 01929 555331.
From 4 April: Wings Over Everest On 3rd April 1933, the first ever aircraft flew over the top of Mount Everest and the aircraft was a Westland Wallace built locally in Yeovil. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the flight, the son of the original pilot Lord Selkirk, will be in Yeovil to give a talk on the event and also to open an exhibition on the flight at the Museum of South Somerset, Hendford, Yeovil. For further information please ring 01935 462855 or e-mail heritage.services@southsomerset.gov.uk.

4 - 20 April:
Semiconductor Brilliant Noise Semiconductor's stunning new sound and video installation investigates our perception of the natural world. During a five-month fellowship at NASA's Space Sciences Laboratory, Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt explored the techniques, materials and philosophies used by scientists to discover near-space. This new work reveals worlds beyond our sensory awareness which probe the limits of human understanding and experience including images of the sun and visual representations of magnetic fields. Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA, 0117 917 2300.

Until 5 April:
Nigel Hughes's paintings and of decorated china by Priscilla Kennedy
Guggleton Gallery, Stalbridge The pictures are mainly landscapes and still lifes, with one or two of Hughes's celebrated Latin American bird paintings. See p.72.

5 April - 15 May:
Waterzones Day Bowman, Ian Knox, Steve Harris. Dramatic non-figurative paintings, gritty film images and improvised sound. From Berwick on weed to Penznace, this series of work stands for all things unordered, jumbled and junked. It is a journey through the urban and post-industrial landscapes of an ageing world. Work and performances will invite debate and dispel the sentimant of postcard images of Britain's shorelines. The Study Gallery of Modern Art, Poole. 01202 205200. www.thestudygallery.org.

5 Aprl - 28 May:
Face to Face. Photographs by Helen Muspratt Helen Muspratt moved to Swanage in the 1920s and met Francis Newbery who encouraged her to follow her dream of becoming a photographer. Helen's solarized portraits have become some of the seminal images of 1930s photography. This exhibition will explore her life, work and inspirations. Dorset County Museum, Dorchester. 01305 262735. www.dorsetcountymuseum.org.

Until 6 April:
Alex Frost Glasgow-based artist, range of new sulptures and drawings that relate directly to his 2007 residency, playing upon the concept of the rural retreat in contrast to the artist's urban, or specifically suburban, standpoint. ArtSway, Sway, Hants. 01590 681989.
Until 6 April: Anne M D Jones Pictures in Pastel. The Exchange Gallery, Sturminster Newton.
Until 6 April: Elizabeth Frink, works from the Archive Sherborne House, Sherborne. 01935 816426.

Until 8 April:
John Rabbetts Dorset based artist John Rabbetts' vibrant, highly collectable oil paintings are appreciated for their mood and atmosphere. He has a strong sense of the nuances of light and a rare talent for capturing expression and movement. Creative Arts at the Octagon. Octagon Theatre, Hendford, Yeovil.

10 April - 20 May:
Westcountry Members of the Society of Graphic Fine Art the only national art society which stipulates the importance of drawing skills as criteria for membership. The SGFA was founded in 1919 and holds an annual open exhibition of members and non-members in London. Octagon Gallery Bar, Octagon Theatre, Henford, Yeovil.

Until 12 April:
Women in Farming A residential project of Aune Head Arts. Across the seasons of one year six women artists explored the entwined life and work of three women hill farmers on Dartmoor. Living on the farms the artists recorded their experiences and explored farming practice - more significantly they were inspired to look at the people themselves and their relationship to the place in which they live and work. Exeter Phoenix and Bridge. 01392 667080.

Until 12 April:
7 Artists During the 1970s, seven artists living on the Hampshire Dorset border joined forces to share studios for portrait, figure and still life studies. Early members, Dennis Hill, Jean Lunn and Keyna Emerson have ben joined by Michael Gough, Bonnie Brown, Peter Symons and most recently Ursula Leach. The new members bring the group a more contemporary focus whilst retaining 7 Artists strong painterly approach. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton. 01404 45006.

12 - 13 April:
Exhibition of Paintings by Nicola Cooke Upwey Old School (next to wishing well), Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset. 01305 813789
Open 10.00a.m - 6.30pm.

12 April - 24 May:
James Bradley - Artist and Teacher James Bradley pioneered the renowned 'basic design' art course at Sidcot School, Bristol. Jim's sources of stimulus, his teaching methods and the work produced by his pupils had a big impact on the development of secondary art education across England, particularly in the 1960s.
DAMSET (Dorset AIDS Memorial Schools Educational Trust) is displaying tile designs by students from Bournemouth and Poole schools on the upper landing of the main staircase. The designs will eventually be printed onto ceramic tiles, which will be assembled as a permanent memorial at Pier Approach, Bournemouth. Each colourful tile represents a Dorset life lost to AIDS. Lighthouse Poole Centre for the Arts. 08700 668701.

Until 13 April:
Tangents. Alastair Michie FRWA - Celebratory creations in which the visible world is translated and transformed into abstract and semi-figurative compositions. Curated by Vivienne Light. Town Mill Galleries, Lyme Regis. 01297 443579.

16 April - 30 April:
Windows An eclectic mix of 2D and 3D art and crafts by local artists around the theme of Windows: Take a view on the world ... an insight ... a breath of fresh air ... bring the outside in ... frame nature ... Upstairs at Galleryeight, 8 Market Place, Glastonbury. www.galleryeight.com , 01458 833574.

Until 17 April:
Bread & Gruel in the Beaminster Workhouse Beaminster Museum.

18 April - 17 May:
The French connection, work of Jenny Price. Using photographs, computer collages, poetry, loose woven fabrics and oils she tells stories of hidden lives, secrets and the unspoken in everyday life. The Little Gallery, 2 Church Street, Beaminster. 01308 863131.

Until 19 April:
Human Form - working with the figure An exhibition of various media by artists Felicity House, Julia Polonski, Duff Pearce, Craig Seabright and Toby Wiggins. Atrium Gallery, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow. Contact Julie Herring, Curator 01202 961428.

19 April - 15 May:
Mola Textiiles & Inuit Sculpture Beaminster Museum.

19 April - 18 May:
In a piece Father - Daughter - Exhibition of work by Andrew and Alice Crance who last showed together in 2006. Andrew - new abstract canvasses in oil nad mixed media; Alice mixed media and stitch. Town Mill Galleries, Lyme Regis. 01297 443579.

19 April - 31 May:
Wheel of the Year paper is the most disposable item in the modern world yet its creative applications are still being developed and explored. This exhibition brings together artworks created from paper by South West members of the Paperwieght group of artists. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton. 01404 45006.

21 April - 18 May:
Sam St. Leger - New Works
Oliver Holt Gallery, Sherborne School, Sherborne. 07790 613 050.

25 April - 10 June:
Andrea Gregson A World Within series of sculptures, miniature installations and drawings made over recent years. Exeter Phoenix and Bridge. 01392 667080.

26 April - 17 May:
Of and About the Landscape Robert Jennison explores rockfaces and hedgerows and Robin Wiggins paints descriptive water-colours of the two Devon moors. Hybrid, 51 High St, Honiton. 01404 43201.

Until 27 April:
'4 Dimensions Exhibition of Carved and Painted Wood Reliefs by Mike Grevatte; Abstract sculptures derived from natural forms and inspired by Indian Tantric Art. Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. www.somerset.gov.uk/museums. 01458 831197.

Until end April:
'Seasonal shimmer' Art exhibition by Lucy Young semi-abstract paintings concentrating on the dramatic changes within the coastal landscape through out the year, from frosty glistening scenes of Lyme bay to fresh spring mornings in the countryside. Blue Lias Gallery, Lyme Regis. 01297 444919.

Until 11 May:
Night, A Time Between Embracing painting, drawing, photography, film, and live performance, Night brings together internationally renowned contemporary artists whose work explores the human asociation with noctural worlds, Artists include Hughie O'Donoghue, Susan Derges and Ergin Cavusoglu, alongside 17th-19th century artworks from the Royal Scottish Academy, The Holburne Museum and private collections. Royal West of England Academy, Queen's Rd, Clifton, Bristol. 0117 973 5129.

Until 11 May:
Robin Rae: A Retrospective at 80. Also Inspired - an exhibition of top designer makers inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School as part of the Fra Newbery Trail. Sladers Yard, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL 01308 459511. info@itrefurniture.co.uk. www.sladersyard.co.uk

Until 29 May:
Henri Matisse, original lithographs some signed by the artist on the plate in 1954, some from earlier limited editions. John Leach Gallery, Muchelney Pottery, Nr/ Langport. 01458 250324.
Until 31 October: Ceramics to Cherish by the Eeles Family Potters, David, Patricia, Benjamin & Simon from Mosterton, West Dorset. In the Undercroft, Forde Abbey, nr Chard. Contact Simon Eeles 01308 868257.

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