Welcome to Bournemouth Arts Blog!

The aim of this blog is to bring together information about the Arts in and around Bournemouth. It will be updated by a team of people who have an interest and enthusiasm for the creative life of this beautiful coastal town.

To kick off, here is just a small selection of some of the creative communities, events and organisations that are thriving in Bournemouth today.

The Lions are coming to Bournemouth!

Pride in Bournemouth is an exciting public art event being staged throughout the summer of 2011. You may have spotted some of the Lions popping up across Bournemouth already. Sponsored by local businesses, artists are decorating life-size lion sculptures, which are being placed in locations all over Bournemouth. The event hopes to encourage exploration of Bournemouth and to raise money for Julia’s House and the Born Free Foundation.

See one artist's work in progress as she creates her Tolkien inspired Lion in the public lounge of the Hotel Miramar - Silmiramarillion - a blog by Elanor McBay

Find out more about the event here - The Lions are coming to Bournemouth!

Silmiramarillion - a work in progress by Elanor McBay

Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum

This architecturally beautiful house turned museum holds a fascinating collection of art and sculpture assembled by the husband and wife Victorian collectors Annie and Merton Russell-Cotes. The collection is of international status and reflects the Victorian fascination with world cultures. One of the other most interesting features of the collection is the quantity of beautiful paintings both depicting women and by women.
The Museum also has regular exhibitions. The current exhibition Food for Thought investigates some of the sensory pleasures and pains of our relationship with food. It features some fascinating archive footage on loan from the Imperial War Museum alongside a selection of art from the collection and some contemporary art and inspiring sculpture.
You can still catch Food for Thought until the 30th of April.

'Repose' by Geza Vastagh.

Find out more at the Gallery's own website - Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum


Moscow Ballet - La Classique, Coppelia

World-renowned soloists Nadejda Ivanova, Ekaterina Shalyapina, Andrey Lyapin, and Alexander Sedov lead this Moscow Ballet Production of Coppelia under the direction of Elik Melikov.  Coppelia is regarded as one of the jewels of classical ballet and represents one of its true comedies.

The ballet is showing at the Pavillion theatre on the 18th of March only.
To find out more see - BIC Event Details

Westbourne Orchestral Society

Will be performing a programme of British music locally on the 19th and 26th March.
The programme includes music by Britten, Mendelssohn and Holst.

See their webpage for further information and online ticket sales.

Fancy knitting a cauliflower or crocheting a couple or carrots?

Blooming Marvellous project members are busy knitting and crocheting for a community knitted project that began in October 2010 and will come together to create a knitted and crocheted 3D garden exhibition in Bournemouth Central Library for 4 weeks in May 2011.

This project received funding from Bournemouth Libraries, Bournemouth Arts Development and the National Lottery/Arts Council. The exhibition will travel to other libraries in Bournemouth - plans so far are Charminster, Kinson and we hope to have West Howe, Strouden and Westbourne libraries involved too.

The exhibition will run from 3rd May - 4th June 2011 at Bournemouth Library.

Find out more at the Blooming Marvelous Blog


Colourscapes

Is an exhibition of new works by Bournemouth based artist Clive Hagon. He describes the series as a selection of genre defining holistic paintings. The exhibition runs from 26th March until the 21st of April at the Moontree Gallery in Boscombe.

Brilliance!

Is a showcase of illuminated artworks at sites around Poole quay and town. A spectacular display of light installations across the Town Centre and Poole Quay will culminate in an illuminated Light on Time parade on 26 March.

19 sites and more than 20 artists are involved in the event which can be viewed on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 26th March between 6.30 and 8.30pm

For more details see Brilliance! Lights up Poole