Welcome Back! September 2025
We hope you have had a brilliant Summer! Read on to learn about our upcoming exhibition with Will Hargreaves, enjoy a Summer at Coda round-up, and explore upcoming creative workshops…
New Exhibition: ‘Staging the Self’ by Will Hargreaves
Staging the Self, Will Hargreaves
Sep 10 – Dec 19 2025
Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm
FREE to attend
An exhibition exploring art, identity and resourcefulness through the recreation of artist’s selfies through the ages.
In a project born in lockdown, artist and designer Will Hargreaves turned his home into a studio, restaging iconic portraits with whatever he had to hand. From ruffs made of lampshades to turbans from blankets, each colourful, theatrical self-portrait blends humour with homage - Will invites us to consider the way we portray ourselves and what historic portraits reveal in the age of the selfie.
Autumn Sculpture Club
Thursdays, 4:30pm - 6pm
Ages 8-14
£70 for 7 weeks
Term dates: 11 Sept-23 Oct | 6 Nov-18 Dec
Bookings are now open for our after-school mixed media Sculpture Club! We’ll enjoy a range of hands-on making - drawing, sculpting, and exploring a variety of materials.
BOOK NOW
Summer Round-Up
It’s been a joy to share such a creative Summer with you all. In our gallery, we loved hosting Sea Sky, the beautiful exhibition by Ben Winter, which was a real favourite with our visitors. Over at our Big Wave Sculpture Club, we saw young makers getting stuck into some brilliant creations, with a second camp taking place at The Lighthouse, Poole.
Hampshire Open Studios was a wonderful way to round off the Summer. Our resident artists welcomed over 400 visitors, inviting them to step inside their studios and explore the creative processes up close. Visitors were also able to browse and buy original artwork, and take part in free taster sessions and workshops along the way. This celebration of creative community was made possible by the generosity and talent of our resident studio artists, and we’re so grateful to everyone who joined us!
To support wellbeing in our local community, we hosted an Active Therapy Day for people with Parkinson's. Over 25 people joined us for stress relieving activities, movement, and vocal exercises. We also continued to deliver our ongoing hospital visits twice monthly, providing musical activities with Coda musicians and crafts with Art Therapist, Charlotte, to the most vulnerable patients in University Hospital Bournemouth.
Thanks also to Stuart and our wonderful volunteers from the Ukulele Band for performing at a range of community events over the Summer, supporting local initiatives including New Milton's Dementia Friendly allotment, and the RNLI.
The Summer sunshine brought an extra spark to our Street Band Sessions, giving them a joyful New Orleans feel. Look out for them at Ringwood Carnival on 20th September. At Rock & Pop Summer Camp, young musicians learned, played, and performed with incredible energy – a big thank you to Esther Frake and her team of music leaders for making it so special.
New Music Term
We’re excited to welcome everyone back for the start of our new term on Monday 8th September! There are still spaces available for new students across a range of instruments - including guitar, flute, clarinet and more - with tuition available for all ages and abilities. Curious to give something new a try? Book a taster session for just £5!
Bramble Hill Cafe is OPEN
Bramble Hill Cafe is now open under new management, offering delicious homemade cakes, fresh lunches, and a range of speciality teas and coffees in their beautifully decorated space! Pop over and meet the lovely mother-daughter duo - Debbie and Molly - Monday to Friday (9am-4pm).
