Travelling gallery is set to hit the road

A host of creative types including Lal Hitchcock from Beaminster, Jenni Cadman from Melbury Osmund, along with Sian Bonell and George Mekrick from Weymouth, will be touring the villages of Dorset and Somerset to bring art to the people.

The project - a double decker bus stuffed with paintings, sketches and sculptures - is on the road for two weeks.

And it will be arriving in Dorchester on Wednesday, May 23, as it visits 17 venues in the two counties during the last two weeks of May.

Six new commissioned works in a broad range of media are featured on the bus, one of which is by Danish artist Karen Hansen, who now lives in Evershot, near Dorchester.

Karen designs and makes furniture using local timbers, with the aim of taking natural timber shapes and turning them into furniture that is both strong and comfortable.

As well as offering a wide range of furniture for the home, some of the public seating in many Dorset villages is also Karen's work.

She is taking with her on the bus a piece she describes as an interactive pinball machine, which demonstrates how the journey from Evershot to Yeovil can vary according to whether you travel by bus or by car.

Karen said: "The character of the work for this project will be different to my general style and give me a chance to explore playfulness and long-winded bus journeys."

A host is provided on the bus in the form of a 'conductor', Annabelle Macfadyen, who will act as a guide, providing information about the artists and their work for the visitors.

It will be in the Old Market car park in Dorchester on the Wednesday morning from 10am until 1pm, and then travelling on to Weymouth for the afternoon.

Organisers say this is a unique opportunity to view the high quality of the region's contemporary art.

Sherborne Contemporary Arts, who aim to promote opportunities for contemporary artists in Dorset and Somerset, started the project.