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Dorset Art Weeks 2026 DORSET ART WEEKS 2026 • 21 For this year’s Dorset Art Weeks, Dorset Visual Arts put out an open call for their headline commission – Flow . In partnership with the Countryside Regeneration Trust and supported by headline sponsors Hall & Woodhouse, it was awarded to Purbeck based artist Debbie Lee. The fi nished work will be on display at the Threshing Barn at Bere Marsh Farm in Shillingstone for the duration of DAW. Debbie is a proli fi c artist who works in a variety of mediums and was recently selected to become an RWA Academician. She delves into literature and poetry to tell stories through her artwork, with a special interest in William Blake. This commission fi ts perfectly with Debbie’s style of work, and with the title Flow she has chosen to present new stories on the river Stour. Through walking and drawing, gathering sights and sounds and inviting people to share their thoughts, she has created a ‘ fl ow’ of connections to the river. Having undertaken numerous site visits and much reading and research, Debbie has completely immersed herself in this project with the dedication and conviction found in all her work. I met Debbie on one of her visits, walking the Stour near Bagber. Here she talked about her process, experiences and the stories she has gathered from individuals around their relationship to the Stour, and how these have led her to create her own response to the river’s journey. Starting in February and working through to the spring equinox, Debbie has witnessed the Stour at its most mighty, over fl owing all winter with its winterbournes running freely, often creating dif fi cult travelling conditions for the project. She has journeyed from the river’s source at St Peter’s Pump in Stourhead, where the elegant National Trust property tells of how the Stour was unnaturally harnessed to create picturesque lakes, down to its mouth in Christchurch. Here mute swan and a ducking stool, used to quiet the ‘scolds’ of quarrelsome women, signi fi ed silence instead of stories, but Debbie was not deterred. The river fl ows north to south, taking in three counties, running through clay, chalk and fi nally sand, with salmon swimming up from the sea. Her visit to Bere Marsh Farm was an important one, the venue for the completed work and location of a nature reserve, originally part of the old railway track. At Shillingstone Heritage Railway Station she met a volunteer who explained how the raised track ran alongside the river and protected the village from fl ooding. She spoke with a wildlife photographer who studies the birds on the reserve before walking south towards Sturminster, the swollen river bursting its banks. Subsequent visits took in many different sections of the river. From Marnhull Church Debbie’s walk led her to where the river Lydden meets the Stour, then on to Hinton St Mary where a widowed farmer regaled her with tales of having rescued a grandfather clock from encroaching fl ood waters. From there she moved along Hardy’s Way, reminiscing on Tess of the D’Urbervilles . Near Wimborne she explored two locations where the river Tarrant and then the river Allen meet the Stour, these conversion points are important, Debbie’s theory that one river’s stories merge with another’s are a rich resource. Her fi nal visit took her to Canford Magna and the Victorian Suspension Bridge, rounded off with a visit to the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford to see the bore hole where water was drawn to brew their beer. This is a just a taste of what is a wealth of information and exploration resulting in spectacular work. Flooded crypts, rescued otters, haunted mills and sketching to the sounds of noisy squirrels all feature - you will have to visit to see for yourself the culmination of this incredible project. Suzy Rushbrook VENUE 38 Bere Marsh Farm, SHILLINGSTONE, near Blandford, DT11 0QY. 10am - 5pm (Closed Sundays). 07908 255770 / thecrt.co.uk. EVENT: Saturday 23 May See dorsetartweeks.co.uk for details. Debbie Lee: Flow ‘FLOW TOWARDS HAMOON’ *EVOLVER_149_SB.qxp_Evolver_2025 14/04/2026 20:11 Page 39