DORSET MOON, the summer season spectacle produced by three Dorset arts festivals starring installation artist Luke Jerram’s renowned Museum of the Moon sculpture, has commissioned seven new pieces for the supporting programme, Under the Moon.

All are by artists based in the south west, four of which are from Dorset and one a graduate of Arts University Bournemouth.

Five of the new works emerged as a result of the Outdoor Arts Development Course earlier this year in which emerging and mid-career artists participated in workshops to explore how their practice could be taken from indoor spaces into the wider public arena. At the end of the course artists were invited to pitch for small commissions for Under the Moon.

“Dorset Moon has presented a wonderful opportunity to commission new work from homegrown artists that will bring exciting new cultural experiences for residents and visitors alike,” says Kate Wood, Executive & Artistic Director of Inside Out Dorset that is curating Dorset Moon in collaboration with Bournemouth Arts By the Sea and b-side.

“The new commissions are all very different, cross discipline and from artists at varying stages of their careers. We are delighted that several Dorset-based artists are presenting work in the programme that will help create a different feel to each of the three locations.”

The new commissions are:

Ra Zamora – Call of the Wild. Bournemouth, Sherborne, Weymouth. A sound installation experimenting with the acoustics of each location that uses the calls of wild wolves, played intermittently as the audience contemplates Oriah Mountain Dreamer poem, ‘The Invitation’.

Laura Reid – Celestial Bodies. Bournemouth, Weymouth. Heard through silent disco-style headsets, Celestial Bodies has been editing together from pre-recorded sounds that create a journey from ethereal soundscapes and words to more beat-driven electronica as people respond to questions about the moon landing, memories and future plans.

R&D Studio with Hemabharathy Palani – Chandini the Astronaut. Bournemouth, Sherborne, Weymouth. As India emerges as a frontrunner in the new race for the moon, R&D Studio has worked with dancer choreographer Hemabharathy Palani who uses a unique blend of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and contemporary dance to explore a woman’s relationship with the moon and the parallels that a lunar journey may have with her life on Earth.

Matilda Skelton-Mace – Earth Module. Bournemouth, Sherborne, Weymouth. A multi-faceted dome structure inside an otherwise non-descript tent with room for one or two people. Using infinity mirror effects and subtle, organic lighting patterns to evoke the night sky, its form is inspired by the interior of the Apollo 11 lunar module. The work plays with scale in a way which complements the Museum of the Moon.

George Roberts – This Then Is the Moon. Bournemouth, Sherborne, Weymouth. Mounted on a steel plinth a battered VR headset inspired by Eugene Cernan’s Apollo 17 helmet – the last to view to view the Moon – houses a 150-second immersive digital experience that chronicles our ever-changing relationship with space.

Helen Ottaway – Title tbc. Sherborne. A 10-minute composition for musical box and voice inspired by watching the waves of the Indian Ocean pulled back and forward by the tides. The work will draw parallels between the rotation of the musical box and rotations of different scales.

Carrie Mason – Pledge. Bournemouth, Weymouth. A short performance collective drawing made by audience participation, Pledge is inspired by Neil Armstrong’s iconic words as the artist wearing hobnail boots takes repetitive small steps to crush Dorset lump charcoal into fine dust then pledging to reduce their carbon footprint before taking a giant leap onto an adjacent canvas and inviting the audience to follow suit. The total performance lasts one hour 57 minutes, the duration of the first moonwalk.

*The main Dorset Moon exhibition will be at the Nothe Fort, Weymouth, from Friday, July 12 to Sunday, July 14. This weekend will coincide with the Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival.

It will also be at the War Memorial, Central Gardens, Bournemouth, from Friday, June 28 to Sunday, June 30 and at Sherborne Abbey from Friday, July 5 to Sunday, July 7.