More than 300 artists will be participating in Somerset Art Weeks later this year.

The theme of this year's event will be 'sanctuary' and it will run from Saturday, September 24 until Sunday, October 9.

Artists will be showcasing their work, giving local people and visitors the chance to peruse many high-quality art pieces and exhibitions in interesting places across the county.

They will be hosting exhibitions and events in over 100 venues, including locations such as stables, museums, churches and even a prison.

The artists will use their creativity to interpret the theme of sanctuary in different ways, making it a unique experience for those who attend. The perspectives on this theme can vary from paintings of the natural world, shared experiences of the pandemic and poetic sanctuary.

 

Artists who will be showcasing at Somerset Art Weeks

 

  • Liz Gregory created paintings inspired by earth-covered pieces of broken china found whilst gardening.
  • Siân Cann has used her Polaroid camera to photograph the woodlands. This location became more important to her when she began to lose her sight during lockdown, and her documentation of this natural space became her reassurance.
  • Chris Dunseath has created a series of small sculptures inspired by the Bronze Age Axes in the collections at The Museum of Somerset.
  • Bronwen Coe has created a series of work on the theme ‘Theatre of trees’ including botanical prints and wood sculptures in memory of a local Sweet Chestnut tree.
  • Jane Mowat has created an installation of embroidery that floods, from the font and down the church nave, sewn with images of native plants.
  • Penelope O'Gara of The Itinerant Bizarrium has created figurative textile works within the setting of the 14th century church of St Peter, Evercreech.
  • Six artists have taken over C-Wing at Shepton Mallet Prison to create interactive artworks using a variety of materials and techniques, including creative computer coding, exploring conversations on postcolonial ideas of the Black British experience in the UK, and participatory installations considering themes of wellbeing.
  • Jacky Oliver has created a large-scale kinetic sculpture for Somerset Rural Life Museum’s 14th-century Abbey Barn.
  • The Arborealists present a new exhibition in the Music Hall at Fyne Court to help promote tree planting.

The Somerset Art Weeks Guide will be available from early August.