Author Archives: yeovilartspace

Yeovil Art Weekender – Festive Day

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Saturday 6 December | 11am – 3pm

We invite you to join us for a creative and festive day where you can take part in art and craft activities, meet the team and ask any questions about Yeovil Art Weekender, our brand new arts and culture festival coming March 2026. 

You are invited to join us for a creative and festive day! This Saturday!

Take part in…

  • Art and Craft activities!
  • Meet the team!
  • Ask any questions about Yeovil Art Weekender, our brand new arts and culture festival coming March 2026. 

We will be joined by artists Sue Green and Alice Bowen Churchill who will be leading on creative activities including flag making, collage and textile printing.

  • Hot drinks and mince pies available
  • Get into the festive spirit.
  • Everyone is welcome! All ages!
  • Come and meet the artists and join in with some creative activities. 

Sue and Alice are creating a new participatory arts project in collaboration with the local community to celebrate Yeovil’s untold stories as part of OUR TOWN.

As part of the Art Weekender on Saturday 28 March, Sue and Alice will be leading a BIG procession through Yeovil town centre!

Get involved and help us to make this a great event, celebrate what makes Yeovil such a unique place for its community.

The Yeovil Art Weekender team will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the festival, how you can get involved and some of the amazing events we have coming up.

Check out the other wonderful workshops Sue and Alice have been doing for project ‘OUR TOWN’:



Yeovil Art Weekender 2026 – Open Call

Yeovil Art Weekender is brand new arts and culture festival for Yeovil, taking place right here in our town centre! Friday 27 – Sunday 29 March 2026, Produced by Yeovil Art Space we have put the festival together with our member artists,…

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OUR TOWN

October 2024 – March 2026 ‘OUR TOWN’ is a partnership project between Yeovil Town Council, Yeovil Refresh, Connect Somerset, Love Yeovil, Yeovil College and a number of community organisations and groups.  It will offer a programme of art and cultural events running…

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Yeovil Art Weekender 2026 – Open Call

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Yeovil Art Weekender is brand new arts and culture festival for Yeovil, taking place right here in our town centre!

Friday 27 – Sunday 29 March 2026,

Produced by Yeovil Art Space we have put the festival together with our member artists, the Yeovil Creatives, a group of Yeovil artists who are sharing their creativity with the community and we are inviting you to get involved!

In this three day event, you will see cultural events, art exhibitions, performances and creative workshops co-created with communities, artists and partners across the town. We aim to fill Yeovil with art and culture, celebrating creativity with all. 

We are now calling for Yeovil’s community, local businesses, community groups, artists and creatives to join us for Yeovil Art Weekender.

Would you like to put on an event, a pop-up display, a workshop, or exhibition during the event?

Let us know! We welcome everybody to be part of this event. Share your idea fill in the following form or contact us directly. The Yeovil Art Weekender celebrates Yeovil’s community and seeks to represent us all, we are open to ideas and would love to here from you…

Click to view Information Document

How can you take part?

  1. Share your idea with us via the Festival Entry Form
  2. Chat with a member of the team
  3. Get your idea ready
  4. Promote your idea
  5. Launch your idea during the Yeovil Art Weekender

What do you get from taking part in Yeovil Art Weekender?

  • Be part of an exciting brand new arts and culture festival!
  • No fee to take part in Yeovil Art Weekender
  • Signposting throughout the weekend
  • Be part of our printed programme
  • Promotion on Yeovil Art Space website and social media
  • Promotion in local and regional press
  • Support from Yeovil Art Weekender team
  • Cross partner promotion
  • Discover new audiences
Click here to share your idea!

Open Call: OUR TOWN Artist commission

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Yeovil Art Space (YAS) invites creative practitioners/artists (individuals or groups) to submit an Expression of Interest to work with our Art Action Group (AAG) and our team members to create new public artwork. The work should engage with Yeovil’s communities and be located in or focused on the town centre. This commission forms part of OUR TOWN, a year-long creative placemaking project supported by Somerset Council and Yeovil Town Council, funded by Arts Council England, aiming to shape the future cultural landscape of Yeovil Town Centre. 

We are seeking Expressions of Interest from creative practitioners/artists (individuals or groups) who wish to work with us to create new artwork exploring the following themes which has identified by the Art Action Group.

Connectivity & Movement – exploring how people navigate, inhabit, and interact with Yeovil Town Centre, including those from a diverse range of abilities, ages and backgrounds.

Hidden Voices & Stories – uncovering lesser-known narratives and lived experiences from the past to the present and re-imagining the future, including those living here for generations, newcomers and those connected with it.

Greening & Environment – addressing sustainability, nature, and ecological interventions in public space, including connecting wider geographical areas and resources.

Celebration & Activation – considering ways to animate and transform the town centre through creative interventions, including redefining the function and character of public spaces

The commissioned practitioner(s) will be responsible for developing ideas, methodologies, and approaches that engage with Yeovil’s community and lead to a tangible outcome. We expect the commissioned practitioners(s) to spend time engaging with Yeovil’s community or a specific community group in Yeovil. We will encourage the commission to utilise the development opportunities that link with the town centre regeneration, and the established connection with community and existing resources from Yeovil Art Space. This outcome can take various forms, in different public spaces, such as empty shops and community spaces, including but not limited to:

  • A material artwork (e.g., installation, sculpture, or mural) 
  • An immersive experience (e.g., projection mapping, sound-based work, music based project, digital intervention) 
  • A participatory event (e.g., performance, procession, or interactive experience) 

We are eager to work with practitioners(s) who are experienced in co-creation, taking an action-research approach to this commission and hope the resulting artwork will inform a future larger public realm art project, with findings contributing to future funding applications and the long-term artistic strategy for Yeovil Town Centre. The commissioned practitioner(s) will be expected to take part in an evaluation process and work with the Art Action Group on measurable outcomes.

Commission budget: £10,000 (including artist fee and production budget)
Submission Details: Please download the full brief HERE.
Submission Deadline: Friday 23rd May, 5pm


Exhibition: Our Time on Earth by Andy Rollo

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30 April – 7 June / Exhibition Opening Event: Thursday 1 May 5-7pm

Celebrating the arrival of spring after a long winter, Yeovil Art Space is delighted to present a solo exhibition of new work by dorset-based artist Andy Rollo.  

‘Our Time on Earth’ features a collection of paintings and an installation of a large-scale drawing as well as mixed media collages, photographs and animation which the artist has worked on in collaboration with his family members. The exhibition aims to show that there is soul and beauty everywhere you look and to encourage you to stop and look harder.

Over the last four years, artist Andy Rollo has immersed himself in the landscape and woodland of Dorset near his home. He has created a new body of work on what he considered to be unassuming, almost incidental subjects; the complexity of moss clad trees, the quality of light falling on the woodland floor and abstract shapes and forms. 

The paintings on show juxtapose dabs and dashes, palette knife marks, washes and impasto together with a mix of oils, acrylic and spray paint. They depict the striking landscape of the local area which has become a place of sanctuary in recent years for the artist. 

‘You see how the transformational quality of light has enabled areas of woodland to take on an almost cathedral-like quality, awe inspiring and magnificent with their juxtaposition of grandeur and the spiritual. They are intentionally uncomposed, in an attempt to give the spectator the feeling of an incidental view, echoing the way you observe nature when surrounded by it. 

It symbolises strength and protection, steadfastness and long life. The tree withstands whatever nature throws at it, and we have had to do the same, whilst continually being reminded of our own mortality and the passing of time.’

About the artist

Andy Rollo is an artist and Lecturer in Fine Art and Visual Culture who has lived in North Dorset for the past 15 years. He has work in private collections in Europe, Australia and the United States and has had his work exhibited in London, Paris and Barcelona over a thirty-year career. His creative practice has always been in response to his immediate surroundings and explores the concept of time, memory, cycles, connections and patterns in nature. The work also explores the thin line between abstraction and figuration, most obviously observed on the surface of each painting with its juxtaposition of differing mediums, descriptive marks and intuitive gestures.  https://www.andyrollo.com

Artist appointed to Create Artwork for Glovers Walk Hoardings

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Further to our recent partnership with Love Yeovil supported by Somerset Council to gain important viewpoints from the Yeovil community on the meanwhile use of Glovers Walk, we will also be managing an artist commission to transform the hoardings that now surround the site.  

We are thrilled to announce that LOW PROFILE, a renowned creative duo based in Plymouth, will design and produce the artwork for the hoardings in Lower Middle Street.

LOW PROFILE is a collaboration between artists Rachel Dobbs and Hannah Rose, who have been working together since 2003. They are renowned for their innovative approach to create engaging and thought-provoking artworks that foster human connections and community engagement.

Putting the community’s voice at the heart of the redevelopment, we will work closely with LOW PROFILE to respond to the call out we have had from you for more culture and creativity in the town centre.

Findings from the survey and consultation work that we carried out with Love Yeovil in late 2024 gained important viewpoints from the public on the meanwhile use of Glovers Walk which will inform the public art commission.

LOW PROFILE will create artwork to cover the area with bold and inspiring artwork, reflecting the aspiration of those involved in the consultation and encouraging imagination of future use of the area. The artwork created will be on display while the demolition works continue until summer 2025.

We know that by commissioning LOW PROFILE we can make this an interesting and exciting focal point for both locals and visitors. The artwork will serve as a testament to the community’s creativity and vision for the future.

Yeovil Art Space and LOW PROFILE will champion sustainability throughout the project and anticipate any artwork created could be used again in the town after the hoarding comes down.

(Published Janurary 2025)

More about Glovers Walk development

Memory Lane Exhibition

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23-26 April, 2025
Opening times: Wed to Fri 12-4 / Sat 11-4

An exhibition put together by Digital Design & Media Students from the Yeovil College University Centre. Inviting you to walk down memory lane from the 1960’s to the 2000’s with their creative responses in a range of media.

“Nostalgia is a powerful force that connects generations, evoking emotions tied to personal and collective memories. Our exhibition, ‘Memory Lane’, explores the ever-evolving relationship between past and present, offering a visual journey through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Through a digital media lens, we seek to reimagine and reinterpret the aesthetics, cultural milestones, and emotional resonance of these eras.

We are university students studying various creative pathways, including photography, textiles, 3D visualization, concept art, and graphic design. Each of us brings a unique perspective, contributing to a tapestry of familiar yet reimagined experiences. Each decade will explore fashion, pop-culture trends, games, hairstyles, and historical references, offering a comprehensive look at how these elements shaped their respective times.”

Opening Event: Thursday 24 April, 6-8pm

More information from the group here: https://6845474.wixsite.com/memorylaneexhibit

Taste of Yeovil Recipe Book Launch & Community Heritage Forum

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A celebratory evening to launch the ‘Taste of Yeovil’ community recipe book. 

6 – 8pm, 8 March 2024, Yeovil Art Space

Join Yeovil Art Space for the launch of our community recipe book ‘Taste of Yeovil’, telling the stories of nine Yeovil residents and their favourite food. Each participant was asked about why their favourite recipe is important to them, as well as how Yeovil has become their home. Designed by international artist Lisa Cheung, with illustrations from Yeovil College Students and featuring recipes from across the generations, this piece of work captures stories of food culture in our community over time. 

A friendly and sociable evening with food and fun. A chance to reminisce about your favourite places to eat and drink in the town. Did you enjoy coffee at Cadena‘s or a hot luncheon at the Cottage Cafe? Join in the game activities from Glade (glade.org) to share personal recollections about food which can then be added to the Story of Yeovil Digital Map (storyofyeovil.uk/story). Some of our recipe book participants will be at the event to share their stories and recipes.

Our community recipe book ‘Taste of Yeovil‘ will be available to buy for £5. There will be light refreshments served, inspired by the recipes in our recipe book, for a small donation. 

The event is free of charge, welcome all, but if you wish to attend please email us, or RSVP here https://forms.gle/NQa6KvKVtU9yRCmz7

Sound of Yeovil Exhibition: Story of D.I.Y.

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16 September – 18 November, 2023

Part of Sound of Yeovil, we present STORY OF D.I.Y., an exhibition telling the story of Yeovil through a collection of Yeovil-related music memorabilia, such as Fanzines, tickets, posters, original photos, along with an extensive archive of vintage recordings. 

Celebrating the wealth of creativity in Yeovil through home-made music and its visual manifestation, the exhibition brings together a comprehensive collection of music fanzines circulated in and around Yeovil from the 70s onwards, including All the Madmen, Feeding the Fish, Still Crazy, Human Debris, Clique, Screed and other one-off wonders. It also shows original photos, artworks and rare finds contributed by individuals, especially for this exhibition.

Apart from reflecting Yeovil’s rich music heritage and a glimpse of Yeovil’s social history, the exhibition provides insight into the D.I.Y. culture and the experimental spirit that long existed within our community. From a diverse range of music, visual artworks and expressions that amplify the voice of creativity, of those who were on the stage and behind the scenes. Exploring possibilities through collaborations, Yeovil continues to be a breeding ground for D.I.Y. music and art in the West Country. 

Acknowledgements

This exhibition is part of an ongoing archive project started in 2015 by the founder of EPS Yeovil, creative producer and sound artist Stephen Ives, who would like to thank the contributions from the creators and collectors for lending their original materials and sharing their stories.  Story of D.I.Y. is curated by Zoe Li in collaboration with Stephen Ives, with support from Simon Barber and the Yeovil Art Space team. 

The exhibition is part of Sound of Yeovil, a Story of Yeovil public programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, delivered by Yeovil Art Space on behalf of Yeovil Heritage and Art Working Group.

Alongside the exhibition, we are bringing together a programme of events for all ages until 18 November:

Make Your Own Pint Mug Sound System (SAT 21 Oct, 1-3.30pm)

Build your own bluetooth speaker in a festival beer mug from scratch! Join sound artist/producer Stephen Ives (aka Farmer Glitch) from EPS Yeovil (eastvilleproject.org.uk) to build a hand-held amplifier/speaker sound system in a plastic festival pint mug, with either a Bluetooth or…

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Share Your Stories

Join us on Friday 10 November 3-5pm to explore the Story of Yeovil Digital Map, an evolving map capturing stories from our communities. The event is also part of a series of Community Heritage Forum events.

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Story of D.I.Y in conversation

Saturday 4 November, 3pm to 7pm  Join us for an early evening of conversations followed by live music performances!     In partnership with EPS Yeovil we are delighted to present this special event including conversation with an amazing panel of guests, sharing…

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– Make your own Zine : Inspired by the exhibition to create a Zine from start to finish using DIY methods. Make a Zine about any subject you like, add images text or anything you feel to make a unique creation. Suitable for all ages. Drop in every Saturday 10 – 5pm to Yeovil Art Space, no booking required.

– Make your own Pint Mug Sound System : A fun DIY electronic workshop to build a Bluetooth speaker in a Festival beer mug from scratch. No experience is required, suitable for aged 16 and above. £15 each, all materials included. Saturday 21 October, 1-3.30pm at Yeovil Art Space.

– Share your stories : Join us to contribute sound and images for our Story of Yeovil Audio Visual Map. The perfect legacy for the Sound of Yeovil, creating a portal for diverse sounds and stories around the town which can be accessed from anywhere; using mobile phones or on a computer. Saturday 10 November, 3-5pm at Yeovil Art Space.

Sounds of our Lives at Yeovil Library: Saturday 16 September

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Saturday 16 September 2023 from 10am-2pm
Yeovil Library, King George Street, Yeovil, BA20 1PY

Join us for an exciting pop-up museum as part of Heritage Open Day event in Yeovil! Discover the sounds of Yeovil from some of the main industries using the objects and photographs of the South Somerset Heritage Collection.

Brought together by the team and volunteers from South Somerset Heritage Collection, a drop-in pop-up museum reflects on some of Yeovil’s well-known industries like aircraft and helicopter manufacture and glove production. It includes the 1933 Flight over Mount Everest by two Westland aircraft and helicopter rotor testing on Ham Hill in the 1950s. A special Technic Lego model will reflect this theme with a bit of fun!

There will be gloving tools to guess how they were used and links to the Glovers, Yeovil Town Football Club, reflecting gloving as the former major employer in the town. Aplin and Barrett and cheese production will be another element. It shows the importance of the railways to both economic growth and travel and tourism; highlighting them through a temporary exhibition display which will explain key developments in each industry and be accompanied by activities including word searches and colouring in.

In partnership with Super Saturday, and Yeovil Arts & Heritage Group and the Story of Yeovil Project. Working together to build a sense of pride in Yeovil.

More on Sound of Yeovil: https://yeovilartspace.uk/soundofyeovil/

Saturday 16 September: Sound of Yeovil

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Sound of Yeovil telling the stories of Yeovil with sound and music. We are delighted to be partners with EPS Yeovil in bringing back the legendary Wyrd Wild West Festival, putting experimental sound and art across the town, starting from SuperSaturday on Saturday 16 September.

Yeovil Art Space [10am – 5pm]

  • Repeater Radio, a one-day only pop-up radio station capturing the day’s activities, broadcasting stories and music from invited guests and community members throughout. 
  • Terry Riley’s In-C by Farmer Glitch and Friends.  An open invitation to musicians to join in an afternoon performance of this late 20th-century minimalist composition.
  • Yeovil Music History Exhibition. Featuring Yeovil-related music memorabilia – Fanzines / tickets/ posters, along with an extensive archive of vintage recordings. The exhibition continues until 18 November.

Yeovil Library [10am-2pm]

Join us for family activities to celebrate Heritage Open Day, a National Event that brings heritage activities to the community in every part of the UK. Also, visit a special display of objects and collections telling the stories of Yeovil.

EPS Yeovil & HMV [12am – 6pm]

Live music in-store sessions from Yeovil and regional talents; music ranging from experimental, rock, acoustic and more…  

The 94 Club [7pm until late]

We are delighted to partner with EPS Yeovil which brings back the legendary Wyrd Wild West Festival at The 94 Club, featuring new and experimental sounds in the West Country. Curated by project producer Stephen Ives. For full line-up and updates: please visit the festival website: wyrdfest.co.uk

Ticket: £15 / Pay as you can. Available at https://wwwfestival2023.eventbrite.co.uk

Map of Locations and Parking for the day

Sound of Yeovil Programme continues until 18 November. For more: https://yeovilartspace.uk/soundofyeovil/

Part of Story of Yeovil, click below for more…