The Place I Love project successfully launched in Broadwindsor on Saturday with an exhibition by local artists at Comrades Hall.

Many paintings sold and a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for the community project, which is being led by village resident Margery Hookings on behalf of Windrose Rural Media Trust.

Rural media charity Windrose is a creative organisation bringing together communities in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, through film, audio and heritage.

The Place I Love project includes researching village field names and folk songs. It will culminate in an interpretive map by artist Megan Edwards to be unveiled in Broadwindsor in February.

Margery said: ‘The project is all about respecting and caring for the place in which we live and those who work within it. At the launch we had some great feedback from people of all ages about what they loved about the village, from its many facilities and landmarks, including the community shop, church and primary school, but the key thing that came through was Broadwindsor’s community spirit and glorious landscape.’

Margery will be handing over the information gathered on post-it notes to Megan to help her shape the map, which will be installed in a central location in the village for all to see.

‘I would like to say a massive thank you to all the very talented artists who took part, to those who helped set up and take down and to the WI ladies in the kitchen dishing up delicious cakes and teas.

‘My friend Donna Heys (main picture)  put in a massive amount of work, exhibiting, co-ordinating her art group and running the refreshments side. It wouldn’t have happened without her drive and imagination’

Artwork by children from Broadwindsor Primary School
was also on display.

Margery said: ‘The school has been very enthusiastic in getting on board with this project, which is lovely to see.

‘It turned out to be much more than an art exhibition, with new contacts made and new ideas that look set to add additional strands to The Place I Love project.’

The project is being funded by Dorset Council’s Community and Culture Project Fund, Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s (AONB)Sustainable Development Fund, the National Community Lottery through the AONB’S Stepping Into Nature Project and Broadwindsor Group Parish Council.

Photo credits: Margery Hookings.

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Read more HERE.

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From 10am – 4pm on Saturday, 16th October at the Comrades Hall you have the opportunity to both view and buy art by local artists. The WI will be providing refreshments throughout the day.

Read more HERE.

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The new arts and heritage project culminating in an interpretive map of Broadwindsor is being launched on Saturday 16th October at the Comrades Hall, Broadwindsor.

Work by village artists, much of it inspired by the local area, will be on show and for sale between 10am and 4pm. The WI has kindly offered to provide refreshments throughout the day.

Organised by a local art group, the event will feature work by Maggi Ouin, Gill and Peter Coates, Mandy Selhurst, Izzy Masey, Carolyne Kardia, Victoria Saines, Donna Heys, Dave Shaw, Norma Roberts, Liz Ridley, Bev Gillard, John Iveson and Libby Jukes.

Each artist will have their own table and there will a central display on specially created boards, kindly made for the occasion by villager Malcolm Heaver, which will be donated to the hall for future art-related events.

Work by pupils from Broadwindsor Primary School will also be on display.

Entry to the exhibition is free. There are no card payment facilities, so please bring cash, your cheque book or make an arrangement to pay the artists by bank transfer.

During the day, Margery Hookings, a writer who lives in the village and is leading The Place I Love project on behalf of Windrose Rural Media Trust, will be inviting locals to tell her what they love about Broadwindsor. Her Windrose colleague, James Harrison, will be filming the launch to include in a short video.

As the project progresses, singer Amanda Boyd will be collecting local folk songs. Her most recent work with Windrose involved combing archive film and folk songs at memory cafes for people with dementia.

Research into field names and land use now and in the past is another strand of the project. Material gathered will be lodged with Dorset History Centre.

The interpretive map of the village is being designed by artist Megan Edwards, whose family live in the village, and will incorporate points of interest highlighted during the course of the project. It will be unveiled in the village in February 2022.

The Place I Love project is funded by Dorset Council, Dorset AONB and Broadwindsor Group Parish Council and supported by volunteers in the community.

Photo ‘View from the farmer Michael Frampton’s bench‘
Credit: Margery Hookings

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