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FESTIVAL OF WESSEX 2026 • 34 GEORGINA BACON ‘SALTWATER’ William Lane: Sea Swimming The Sea Swimming project documents the people who regularly immerse themselves in the waters off Weymouth and Portland. Through a series of portraits, the work explores the many reasons people are drawn to sea swimming, from physical challenge and connection with nature to mental health and wellbeing. The project has grown through conversations with over sixty participants, each bringing their own story and relationship with the sea. While individual motivations differ, a strong sense of community and shared experience runs throughout the series. This body of work celebrates the positive impact of sea swimming, the connections it creates, and the distinctive coastal characters who make these communities what they are. 21 July - 11 October: Level 1, North Wing, Dorset County Hospital, William Avenue, DORCHESTER, DT1 2JY. 8am - 8pm. 01305 253424 / dchartsinhospital.org.uk . Summer Exhibition Visit St Peter’s Hall at the top of Shaftesbury’s famous Gold Hill for this exhibition by Yvette Cannon, Francesca Kaye, Kate Toms, Trevor Toms, Sara Westaway, and Elaine Zaple Gulliver, six Dorset artists coming together to show work that includes photography, painting, jewellery, sculptures, ceramics and silk scarves. 17 - 29 August: St Peter’s Hall, SHAFTESBURY, SP7 8LY. 10am - 5pm. 07970297037 / katetoms.com. JACK DICKSON ‘WE THE UNDERTOW’ Blandford Art Society Open Exhibition The Blandford Art Society return to the renovated Corn Exchange after a 4-year absence, with guest artist Jack Dickson, recently featured on BBC’s Extraordinary Portraits . The annual exhibition is open to all artists, professional and amateur, living in the Wessex area. The deadline for submissions is 12th July. 15 - 21 August: The Corn Exchange, BLANDFORD FORUM, DT11 7AG. Friday 5 - 7pm, Saturday 10am - 7pm, Sunday - Thursday 10am - 5pm, Friday 10am - 4pm. blandfordartsociety.weebly.com . KATE TOMS ‘LILY’ JOHNNY VEGAS Alchemy The artists Peter Hayes, Johnny Vegas, Emma Rodgers, Gina Hatter, Max Eugeni, Sophie Green, Lonn Landis, Simone Schofield, and Fredrik Anderson have worked as a collective, driven by shared curiosity, environments, and elements of nature, and the reactions that happen throughout that process. 7 - 12 July: Pedestal Gallery, 3 Stony Street, FROME, BA11 1BU. 10am - 4pm. 07889 597637 / thepedestalgallery.co.uk .