Dorset Moon is delighted to announce it has commissioned seven new art and performance pieces that will be FREE for the public to enjoy. They will be part of a series of events called ‘Under The Moon’ that will compliment Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon in each of its spectacular locations.

DORSET MOON, is THE Summer season, Dorset-wide spectacle produced by three local arts festivals in three amazing locations which has as its centrepiece, Luke Jerram’s astonishing Museum of the Moon sculpture that has toured all over the world to great acclaim.

Many of the commissions are by artists based in the South West, four of which are from Dorset and one a graduate of Arts University Bournemouth.

“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 Arts By the Sea and b-side festivals. She added “The new commissions are all different and from artists at varying stages of their careers. We are delighted that several Dorset-based artists are presenting work in the programme. We hope to create a different feel to each of the three locations.”

The new commissions are:

Laura Reid – Celestial Bodies

Experience this at Bournemouth and Weymouth venues

Heard through Silent Disco-style headsets, Celestial Bodies has been edited 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 – A Small Dream

Experience this at Bournemouth, Sherborne and Weymouth venues.

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

Experience this at Bournemouth, Sherborne and Weymouth venues

A multifaceted 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

Experience this at Bournemouth, Sherborne and Weymouth venues

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

 

Helen Ottaway – Title tbc.

Experience this at Sherborne Abbey

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 which are dictated by the cycles of the moon. The work will draw parallels between the rotation of the musical box and rotations of different scales.

 

Ra Zamora – Call of the Wild

Experience this in Bournemouth, Sherborne and Weymouth venues

A sound installation experimenting with the acoustics at each location that uses the calls of wild wolves, played intermittently as the audience contemplates Oriah Mountain Dreamer poem, ‘The Invitation’.

 

Carrie Mason – Pledge

Experience this at Bournemouth and Weymouth venues

A short performance of 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.

 

Dorset Moon dates:

Friday 28 – Sunday 30  June,  War Memorial, Central Gardens, Bournemouth

Friday 5 – Sunday 7  July,  Sherborne Abbey, Sherborne

Friday 12 – Sunday 14  July,  Nothe Fort, Weymouth

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE

For further information please visit: www.dorsetmoon.com