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WHAT'S ON
Wells & Mendip Museum has a busy calendar of events. From talks and workshops to art exhibitions and garden days, keep an eye on this page to see what's coming up.
The museum publishes a free newsletter every two months with information on events and developments in the museum. Please visit Our Newsletter page to subscribe or download copies.
What's On - Summary
Scroll down the page for full event details
19 Mar 2024
10:00 am
to
27 Apr 2024
3:00 pm
'Within these Walls'
The museum garden's reconstruction since Autumn 2019
16 Apr 2024
9:00 am
to
20 Apr 2024
3:00 pm
Art exhibition by Holcombe Art Group
Paintings using the medium of acrylic paints on canvas and board and some mixed media
30 Apr 2024
9:00 am
to
11 May 2024
3:00 pm
Chris Mottram
Art Exhibition
14 May 2024
9:00 am
to
25 May 2024
3:00 pm
Draycott Art Club
Art Exhibition
Smashed in the Cellar
The exploration of a mystery in the Museum garden
On until 11th April
Smashed in the Cellar is a major exhibition taking place at the Museum until 11th April. It explores the stories behind a remarkable collection of 500 years pottery that was excavated from the museum garden in the 1990s. The collection includes everything from 14th century wine jugs to exotic Chinese export porcelain and a whole range of sanitary ware, including a rare late 18th century flushing toilet! The show also features the major painting The Tea Party by Richard Collins, on loan from The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London. You can read more about the painting here.
Local artist Duncan Cameron has been working on a contemporary response to the collection and his original artwork is included in the exhibition. As well as creating his own work inspired by the pottery, Duncan has been leading workshops with clients and members of The Lawrence Centre and Heads Up in Wells. Participants’ work is also on show at the museum.
‘Thanks to funding from Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have been able to create one of those spine-tingling moments that you get in museums,’ said project curator, Oliver Kent, ‘every piece of pottery in this exhibition was bought for use and lived its life in the house before it became a museum. We cannot meet the people who lived there, but these objects are theirs and speak for them. They give a sense of their choices, likes and dislikes, their tastes in decoration and food.’
Who had used the pots and who threw them away? When? Who made them? Where and how did they get to Wells? Visit the exhibition and help us in our quest to find answers to these questions.
The show is open from 16 February to 11 April, 10 till 4 Tuesday to Saturday at Wells & Mendip Museum, 8 Cathedral Green, Wells, BA5 2UE. Museum entry fees apply.
Made possible through Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund
The Curator's Choice
A changing display which features items specially chosen by the curator.
It can be viewed on the mezzanine floor of the museum.
Replica Iron Age pots made for the Wells Pageant
The original display label for these pots records that ‘the ladies successfully imitated the ‘Early Iron Age’ cave people’s method of decorating their pottery’. Replica pots were used in the Iron Age episode of the Wells Pageant of 1923, based on artefacts excavated from Wookey Hole Cave by Herbert Balch, the pageant’s organiser. The ladies referred to were members of the pageant committee.
The centenary was marked earlier this year with an exhibition at the museum ‘The Wells Pageant of 1923: A Celebration of Community’, guest curated by Jordan Cole.
'Within these Walls'
The museum garden's reconstruction since Autumn 2019
19 Mar 2024
-
27 Apr 2024
10:00 am
3:00 pm
Spring is in the air and our latest temporary exhibition in the Meeting Room focuses on the museum's garden. Since 2019 a team of dedicated volunteers have rejuvenated this peaceful and sheltered oasis in the medieval heart of Wells, which recently won a Gold Award from Wells in Bloom.
The garden is now an integral part of the museum’s facilities and can be hired for functions, local societies and interest groups – a valuable community asset. The exhibition documents this journey and explains the garden's historic context - and the team's plans for the future.
All visitors will be welcome to combine the exhibition with a visit to the garden and enjoy its tranquility and unique setting.
Usual museum entry fees apply
Art exhibition by Holcombe Art Group
Paintings using the medium of acrylic paints on canvas and board and some mixed media
16 Apr 2024
-
20 Apr 2024
9:00 am
3:00 pm
The subject matter of the paintings is varied, from family portraits, local scenes with several depicting views within the City of Wells, to landscapes and other subjects from around the world.
Inspiration has been taken from local scenes, and from photographs taken by group members on their travels, either in the course of work or holiday enjoyment.
Some paintings show the progression from beginner to more accomplished artist.
Free entry to exhibition only
Chris Mottram
Art Exhibition
30 Apr 2024
-
11 May 2024
9:00 am
3:00 pm
Chris is a West Country artist living in Bristol. He studied fine Art & Design at Colchester College of Art in Essex and later at the National School of Art in Sydney, Australia. He draws inspiration from nature and landscape, and our rich heritage. Chris has exhibited work for The Bath Society of Artists and has also had a work accepted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Most of the paintings that will be on display are oil on canvas.
Free entry to exhibition
Draycott Art Club
Art Exhibition
14 May 2024
-
25 May 2024
9:00 am
3:00 pm
Come and see the group’s exhibition and perhaps purchase some very affordable art made by experienced and not so experienced but very enthusiastic artists. You will find many different media used, from acrylic to watercolour and from pastel to charcoal. Some quite large work to smaller but well-crafted pieces, covering landscape, still life, life drawing and portraiture.
Our stewards are more than happy to talk to you about the work and answer any questions that you may have. They could possibly even encourage you to join our club and use those skills that you might not have used since school days and forgotten that you even had. Framed and unframed work, plus cards and other art will be available for purchase.
Free entry to exhibition