Exhibitions
Plesiosaurus 200: Celebrating 200 years since Mary Anning’s groundbreaking discovery
a new temporary exhibition for 2024
Opening Date | 25th May 2024
Free with Museum Admission
Our new temporary exhibition, exploring the history of Mary Anning’s discovery of the first complete plesiosaur skeleton, will be opening in the Geology Gallery on 25th May.
The exhibition is brought right up-to-date with amazing local modern finds including the second ever specimen of a very rare new plesiosaur that was the ancestor of Attenborough’s ‘Sea Rex’.
‘TREASURES’
Scavenged Finds from Black Ven – Christine Allison
2 April – 23 May
This art exhibition running in the Rotunda Gallery in the Museum, will feature recent work by popular local artist Christine Allison. As she explains, “The blue lias clay at the base of Black Ven is washed twice daily by the sea and continues to reveal crazy pieces of rusty metal, fragments of decorated china, pieces of sea glass and strange objects … all remnants from the cliff-top Victorian tip, which continues to collapse onto the beach. I like to scavenge. I like the thrill of finding an oddity. I like to imagine the life each treasure has had. Who ate off that plate or drank out of that cup or fixed that bit of metal?”
“Each object,” she continues,”has a story, a history. I like to arrange these treasures into assemblages, juxtaposing unlikely pieces together; making new relationships between fragile, decorated fragments of china and weathered shapes of metal, richly coloured with the patina of time. These assembled treasures then become the subject matter for my artworks. Through my drawings and paintings, I celebrate their unique beauty and give them another life.”
‘Treasures – Scavenged Finds from Black Ven‘ will be running in our Rotunda Gallery from 2 April until 23 May, for visiting information please see our Plan your Visit page.
Christine is also running two exciting Creative Drawing weekends from the Museum based on beachcombed items from Black Ven, for more information please click here.
ABSTRACTING LYME’S PAST
Recent Work of the Lyme Abstract Art Group
25 May – 20 July
Creating abstract art involves seeing things afresh – extracting the lines, the forms, the marks and the meaning. Come and see how the Lyme Regis Abstract Art Group takes inspiration from the museum, to produce an intriguing display of original work.
Lyme Abstract Art Group was formed in 2022, bringing together a group of 8 enthusiastic abstract artists, who along with their group leader, create artwork both individually and collaboratively, and meet each week to discuss, share and embrace abstract art in all its different forms.
All the members of the group live within the local area of the Lyme Regis Museum, so when approached to create an exhibition for the museum’s Rotunda Gallery, they embarked on a fact-finding, creative quest for inspiration from the museum and all its fascinating collections. Their work takes many forms, from acrylic painting and use of mixed media through to textiles and mono-printing.
Working from sketches and photographs that inspire each member of the group, the journey from fledgling idea through to finished painting is one of exploration, discussion, experimentation and sheer determination. Using sketchbooks to investigate mark-making and shapes, as well as colour mixing and writing, everyone has developed their own work in a totally unique way, making the creative process an essential part of the development of their own individual style. This is what gives this particular exhibition the flavour of a traditional contemporary gallery – every piece is so very different from the next.
The eclectic range of work on show is a true testament to the vibrant and exciting nature of contemporary art today.
Exhibiting artists are: Bob Andrews, Jayne Avery, Patricia Baybutt, Anna Bonavia, Claire Colliard, Kath Gigg, Beverley Glock, Jenny Waldron and Sue Hodgetts (group leader).
‘ABSTRACTING LYME’S PAST – Recent Work of the Lyme Abstract Art Group‘ will be running in our Rotunda Gallery from 25 May until 20 July, for visiting information please see our Plan your Visit page.