This event is FREE and available for viewing throughout the Festival week

As part of our 2026 Festival we are excited to have our first Community Art Installation created with contributions from the community and Be Free Young Carers, the charity we support.  It will be installed on the steps in the People’s Chapel, reflecting the light and architecture of the surrounding Abbey.

Oxfordshire artist Emma Coleman-Jones has created an inspired design linked to the striking architecture of Dorchester Abbey itself. She will collaborate with celebrated Oxfordshire sculptor and craftsman David Harber to construct a series of simple wrought iron arches echoing the shapes of the arches and windows within the Abbey. These structures will act as both the physical structures and as the unifying concept for the display of the artwork within the People’s Chapel of the Abbey for the duration of the Festival. Each arch will be used to display the numerous postcard sized artworks created by community groups in and around Dorchester and by teenagers from our Festival charity Be Free Young Carers.

Emma will work with at least 6 community groups in a fully inclusive way to create this installation. The broad theme of ‘Impressions of Dorchester’ will be open to interpretation in many ways to suit the participants and their materials of choice. These might include impressions of the physical landscape, the natural world or the historic, built environment of the Dorchester area. We could, for example, see artwork that explores the iconic Sinodun Hills and the course of the River Thames; the beautiful architecture of the village or the impressions of light pouring through the stained glass windows of the Abbey.

After the festival the artwork will be relocated to other sites, either within Dorchester village or elsewhere in the county for temporary exhibition. Depending on the venues this may involve re-installation of the complete display including the frames. However, the nature of the individual pieces – small postcard sized works – will ensure that installations elsewhere can be readily adapted to the space available.

The wrought iron frames, being of high quality and expert craftsmanship, will be durable and able to be used for future installations in both indoor and outdoor settings.