Until 4 April
The Blessed Virgin Mary of my Dreams An exhibition to celebrate the latest book from winner of the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry, Selima Hill, in collaboration with Moby Hill (artist), Archie Stokes-Faiers (stonemason), Rod Hill (textiles) and Luke Thompson of Guillemot Press. Free entry. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am – 3pm. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. info@ilminsterarts.org.uk
8 April – 5 May
Sue Durant and Lin Hawkins – ‘Points of View’ – An exhibition featuring semi abstract representations of the natural world. Expect to see landscapes, seascapes, flowers and moons. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am – 3pm. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com
Until 12 April
Tom Halifax Lost Property A Retrospective exhibition. The Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre, South Street Bridport. Open from 10am – 4pm Tuesday – Saturday Free entry. www.bridport-arts.com.
18 – 19 April
Makers’ Market – As well as BlueBarn.Life’s hand-made clothing for men and women, makers include: Lin Lovekin, baskets; Jon Hazell, woodturner, general woodworker and part time woodsman; Martin Hazell, world-renowned spoon-maker; Warriner Leather, leather goods; Lou Tonkin, artist and print-maker. Jo Burnell, hand thrown earthenware pottery and Lorette Dare, patchwork quilts and rag dolls. Martin Hazell will demonstrate his craft of spoon-making. Refreshments and lunches will also be available. 11am to 4pm at School House Farm, School Lane, Blackdown, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3LE.
Until 19 April
Magic and Mystery. Michael Cullimore (1936 – 2021)Watercolours from 1980 – 2020. ‘Cullimore has always had an odd and individual way of looking at things; he is a homegrown Symbolist, excited by the way that signs and portents and unexpected allusions seem to be half hidden in every shape of hill and valley, and finds magic and mystery in the most commonplace objects…..’ John Russell Taylor writing in The Saturday Times. Open Thursday – Saturday, 10am – 3pm. The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HB.
The Arborealists 40 Works at Sculpture by the Lakes. A first in the county of Dorset, The Arborealists will stage their 40th exhibition at Sculpture by the Lakes Gallery, Pallington, near Dorchester. This exquisite, popular rural venue shares ecological aims and values with the group and is in harmony with the landscape. Thirty Arborealists will show one to three works, each of diverse approaches, mediums, scales, and styles unified by the subject. Sculpture by the Lakes, Pallington, Dorchester DT2 8QU
Until 21 April
An Uncommon Thread Featuring Rachael Louise Bailey, Max Boyla, KV Duong, Charlotte Edey, Nour Jaouda, Lindsey Mendick, Jack O’Brien, Nengi Omuku, Tai Shani and Georg Wilson. The exhibition is in collaboration with Alice Black, Berntson Bhattacharjee, Carl Freedman Gallery, Gathering, Ginny on Frederick, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery and Union Pacific. ‘An Uncommon Thread’ features 10 contemporary artists living and working in the UK. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL.
6 Bridport Artists Exhibition. A group exhibition held in the magnificent setting of Eype Centre for the Arts. Paintings, Ceramics, Lino Prints, Ornamental Ironwork and Textiles. Open daily from 10.30 to 4.30, Free admission. Eype Centre for the Arts, Mount Lane, Eype. DT6 6AR.
23 April – 3 May
Carleton E. Watkins Photographing the American West. Accompanying the From Page to Screen film festival will be an exhibition in the Allsop Gallery exploring the work of Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916), one of America’s best-known landscape photographers. Watkins travelled thousands of miles documenting the American landscape and, in particular, the changing fortunes of the American West. Exhibition Open from 10am – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR.
Until 26 April
Ashish Ghadiali: Sensing the Planet Debut solo exhibition by filmmaker and environmental artist, Ashish Ghadiali. Through his works, Ghadiali seeks to reveal how racial justice serves as a door towards intimacy with the life of our planet in crisis. Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX thelmahulbert.com. 01404 45006.
26 April – 7May
Dorset in Colour. An exhibition by 4 artists, Jenny Penney, Caroline Tucker, Rupert Andrews and Clare Hughes working in complex media, manipulating acrylic, card, clay or felt. The results are bright, energetic and colourful offering a delightful and thought-provoking exhibition. 10 am – 4.30 pm daily, Eype Centre for the Arts, Mount Lane, Eype, Bridport DT6 6AR. Free entry and car parking. www.jennypenneyart.net.
Until 4 May
Nicola Hicks ‘Dressed for the Woods’ the first solo retrospective of Nicola Hicks MBE FRSS – one of the most significant British sculptors of the 21st century. In celebration of the artist’s 65th birthday, the gallery will present more than 30 exceptional works, drawn from each majormajor series of Hicks’ career to date. Messums West Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, SP3 6LW. Email: west@messums.org. Telephone: (Thurs – Mon) +44 (0) 1747 445042.
Until 11 May
A British Museum Partnership Exhibition with Colchester + Ipswich Museums delves into the lesser-known history of gladiatorial contests in Roman Britain. The exhibition showcases iconic objects like the Colchester Vase, depicting a real gladiatorial battle, and the Hawkedon Helmet, the only confirmed gladiatorial armour from Roman Britain. These artefacts, along with others, reveal the violent spectacles that entertained the public and underscore the significance of gladiators in Roman culture. The exhibition will feature finds from Maumbury Rings in Dorchester, a unique site originally a Neolithic henge that was transformed into a Roman amphitheatre nearly 2,000 years ago. This adaptation reflects the cultural imprint of the Romans on Britain. Free as part of Museum entry. Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1XA. www.dorsetmuseum.org.
Philip Sutton RA Portrait of the Artist. Seventy years of self-portraits, the places they were painted and more. Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, Licensed Café, West Bay, Dorset DT6 4EL. www.sladersyard.co.uk. 01308 459511.
Until 8 June
Strength and Resilience: Somerset Women in the Second World War. An exhibition exploring the impact of 1939-1945 on the lives of four women with links to the West Country, including photographs by celebrated photographer Lee Miller and spy Odette Hallowes. The exhibition marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Exhibition at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury.
