The PAW Festival | Open Studios | Rollington Barn Exhibiton | Rollington Pop-Up Studio | Rollington Installations | PYA Exhibition | Concerts & Events
The PAW Festival
Welcome to Purbeck Art Weeks!
PAW Festival has Open Studios, Exhibitions, Concerts and more for you to enjoy, as well as a few surprises . . . all the details are in our Festival Brochure, or on this website.
Our painters, sculptors, printers, glass artists and more, are all looking forward to welcoming you to their Open Studios. Rollington Barn (near Corfe Castle) hosts our eclectic collective exhibition – and you can find out about our concerts, other events and more from our stewards there too. It’s a great place to start your visit – you’ll find the Courtyard Café perfect for light lunches, coffee and wow factor cakes! You can spot various artists in action in the Pop-Up studio tent, and in the adjacent byre you’ll find a display of imaginative work by young people involved in our Purbeck Young Artists workshop scheme At the far end of the byre is this year’s installation – ‘The Spirit of Rollington’ with artist Charlotte Fereday. Do go along and contribute to her crowded canvas. The rest is a surprise!
Alongside the visual arts we have an exciting line-up of Concerts for you to enjoy in the evenings. We start with a celebration of summertime with a brass flourish from Gawain Glenton and his ensemble, In Echo, followed by I Fagiolini singing works by Benevoli and Monteverdi. Next comes the Fieri Consort with ‘Dawn Chorus’ followed by award winning mezzo soprano Helen Charlston and lutenist Toby Carr who bring a selection of Dowland’s songs and more, as well as two world premieres. We close with The Gesualdo Six vocal ensemble, back by popular demand.
We are delighted that our PAW President and distinguished sculptor Philip Jackson will be speaking on The Changing Face of Beauty. Do come along to what I’m sure will be a fascinating and insightful evening. As ever, The Purbeck Poets host their annual open mic evening of poetry in the Globe Inn.
Finally – keep your eyes open for sculptor Robert Marshall’s rare and elusive Water Bottle Tree, it could pop up anywhere in Purbeck during PAW! You will know it when you see it. Keep an eye on our website and social media for mystery clues.
On a more personal note, this is my last Festival as Chair – after nearly a decade I will be stepping down and leaving PAW in the capable hands of Fellow Trustee Anne Easterbrooke.
We hope you all find something to thrill and inspire you during PAW Festival!
Charlotte Heath Chair, Purbeck Art Weeks Festival
FOREWORD by the Festival President
Looking back at past ‘Forewords’ I note that each year has been marked by some momentous national or international event, a pandemic, a European war, the death of a much-loved monarch, a Coronation and so on. This year is no exception with a new war being waged in Gaza. In these often troubled times it is wonderful to have a constant and remarkable event that spiritually lifts and inspires us and over which we do have control and involvement. The PAW Festival, now in its 24th year, is that event. A wonderful and exciting blend of music, singing, performing arts, talks, paintings, sculpture and crafts in many forms all set in beautiful Purbeck’s towns and villages. All this is made possible by the involvement of local organisations, local individuals, schools and community groups.
The PAW Festival once again welcomes thousands of visitors to the enchanting and beautiful Jurassic coast to spend time at the Festival and be enthralled by the talent and imagination on display. This year the Rollington collective exhibition has at least 8 new artists exhibiting. In addition there are many studios to visit where you can meet artists in their creative environments and buy their work if you wish to. For those that enjoy a great musical experience, following their success last year, the male vocal ensemble Gesualdo Six will be performing again. Do not miss The Fieri singers with their fascinating programme of music related to, and inspired by, birds. Just two of the many events programmed for your enjoyment.
Reading this brochure you will get a good idea of what is available beyond the few things I have mentioned here. The programme has been put together by a dedicated team of inspired people who have been tirelessly working to make the PAW Festival new and exciting – I cannot thank all those involved enough for their hard work over the past year.
You have a lot to look forward to!
Philip Jackson CVO DL MA FRBS
Past Brochures
The free PAW brochure contains everything a visitor needs to know about the Festival fortnight: exhibitions, Open Studios, events, and community projects. Every participating artist will have their contact details included in the brochure and most will also have an illustration of their work too. Click on the covers to have a look at some of our recent past brochures to see what we were doing.
Past Events Programmes
Every year we strive to bring you the most comprehensive Events programme possible. Please click on the covers to have a look at some of our recent past programmes and if you would like to receive information about our Festivals in advance please click here. If you would like to become a Friend and enjoy priority booking for our Events and for our winter series of Chamber Music in Purbeck Houses, please click here.
Past Brochure Covers
