New partnership brings art and conservation together at Bere Marsh Farm for Dorset Art Weeks 2026

We’re delighted to announce our new partnership with Dorset Visual Arts for 2026, an exciting collaboration that brings together creativity, community and conservation.

  

This year, we’ll be working with Dorset Visual Arts on a number of projects, beginning with Dorset Art Weeks 2026.

  

As part of the programme, one artist will be offered a headline commission on the theme Flow, with their work displayed in the Threshing Barn at Bere Marsh Farm, Shillingstone, from May 23 to June 7. 

    

The call for submissions has now closed after artists were invited to explore the many meanings and movements of rivers, from their historical and cultural significance to their vital ecological role today.

  

Artists considered ideas around hydroecology and river systems, including folklore, defence, and rivers as ancient routes and channels of connection. Contemporary perspectives may also address climate change, resource management, population pressure, and how waterways are increasingly being re-engineered through rewilding initiatives.

  

The winning commission will be revealed soon.

We’re especially proud that Bere Marsh Farm has been chosen as the headline commission venue. 

  

Charlotte Weatherley, farm estate and community officer at Bere Marsh Farm, said she is excited to see how local artists responded to the brief.

  

She said: “Bere Marsh Farm is working to improve biodiversity in the countryside, so working with Dorset Visual Arts, who are committed to exploring the role visual arts plays in protecting natural environments, seems a natural step. 

  

“The theme they chose for their 2026 Dorset Art Weeks commission, Flow, has a great deal of resonance for us here and the work which we have done to 'slow the flow' of the River Stour, and improve habitats for wading birds.”

  

Paul Newman, Dorset Visual Arts Creative Director, said: "We are thrilled to be partnering with the Countryside Regeneration Trust on FLOW, our headline commission for Dorset Art Weeks.

  

  

   

At Bere Marsh Farm, practical conservation work, including measures to slow water flow and enhance wetland habitats, is already helping wildlife thrive.

  

Through this partnership, we hope to spark new conversations about rivers, landscapes and our relationship with the natural world, using art as a powerful way to connect people with place. 

  

We look forward to welcoming visitors to the Threshing Barn in the spring and sharing more details about the commissioned artist in the coming months. Watch this space for updates.