Dorset County Council is working with Bridport-based arts company PVA MediaLab to appoint an artist-in-residence for the project, called ‘Domus’, using an award of £5,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

The artist will work with local deaf and hearing-impaired people at workshops in March to develop a looped projection piece to be shown at the Town House. The work will explore the site’s history and environment through the use of digital media and light.

Julie Penfold, director of PVA MediaLab, said: “We are very pleased to be working with colleagues at Dorchester’s Roman Town House to deliver this exciting project. We hope to highlight the special qualities of the site, enhancing its qualities and encouraging pride in local heritage.”

If you are interested in taking part in the workshops on 23-25 March in Dorchester, please book through the Roman Town House officer Sarah Harbige on 01305 228241 or s.e.harbige@dorsetcc.gov.uk

The above is all from a press release issued by Dorset County Council. You can tell that from the perfectly on-message words “said” by Julie Penfold of PVA.

They’re worth noting because, in the current climate of impending cutbacks, ‘Domus’ is exactly the kind of project that many people will think is a waste of money. Do deaf people really need to experience “a moving image projection” on the Roman Town House? They’re hard of hearing. It’s not like they can’t see it. What’s wrong with reading about it, or walking around and imagining?

But PVA are going to do a job, and who can blame them for wanting to do it? What’s more interesting is the role of Dorset County Council. I would suggest that Domus should be seen in the context of years and years of expenditure and experimentation by Dorset County Council on the Roman Town House. It is a remarkable and important archaeological monument, but it’s in an odd place, tucked away round the back of County Hall, and not all that many people go it, and no one is really quite sure what its purpose should be, or how should it be promoted. Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on it, and yet no one ever seems to have produced a coherent plan for promoting the Roman heritage of Dorchester and including the Town House as part of that. I know people have tried, but does anyone think they have succeeded?

You can see the official Roman Town House website by clicking on this link. At the time of writing this, it’s got Tony Robinson on the home page, which is ok, and also a horrible spelling mistake, which is not…

Hand-blocked print of King George III riding away from Weymouth, by Liz Somerville

ARTIST Liz Somerville is opening up her studio in Cattistock this weekend for a Christmas Sale.

There’s something about her technique, and her sense of colour, which both captures and recasts the Dorset landscape, its atmosphere, its boundaries, its contours, its delights… I could write whole alphabets of praise; I really rate her work.

Anyway, if you’ve never seen it, or you want to see it again, she’s open from 11am to 4pm this Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29. The studio itself is an attractive kind of shack, if you like corrugated iron, and there is also something irresistibly, improbably appealing about going into a village lean-to numbered 763 (The Square). Did Cattistock really once have nearly 800 houses? Does it now? I don’t know.

Both Liz Somerville and the potter Emily Myers are selling their work at 20 per cent off normal prices.

For more details, see www.lizsomerville.co.uk

The initiative –  which runs from November 14 -22 – has been timed to coincide with the Bridport Literary Festival, the countertext09 exhibition and events, and (whisper it) the approach of Christmas.

The move to engage the public in appreciating and buying art is also meant to form part of the campaign against the proposed redevelopment of the South West Quadrant in Bridport.

Half of the 28 artists taking part in the Open Studios event are from St Michael’s Studios on the St Michael’s Trading Estate in the South West Quadrant.

“We would,” says a collective statement from artists involved, “appreciate your support for the historic St Michael’s Trading Estate which is under threat from an unpopular redevelopment.

“The trading estate is home to a vibrant community of light industry, traditional crafts, antiques and an eclectic mix of businesses. It is dearly loved as the cultural heart of Bridport.”

West Dorset District Council, one of the partners involved in the possible reshaping of the SW Quadrant, insists that its plans for new homes, and fresh commercial opportunities, are sensitive and well-supported.

Artists taking part in Open Studios are:

• At St Michael’s Studios – Kit Glaisyer, Caroline Ireland, David Brooke, Philomena Harmsworth, Prue Heward-Morgan, Paul Richmond-Derby, John Rabbetts, Marion Taylor, Sally Davies, Jemma Thompson, Alessandro Botto, Ian Dunn, Marion Irons
• In and around Bridport – Wendy Poole, Colin Granger, John Stevens, Antony Dover
• Mangerton – Michael Chappell
• Powerstock – David Risk Kennard
• Beaminster – Brian Cocks, Roy Barrett, Betty Paulson
• Chideock – Annalisa Renee
• Fishponds – Greta Berlin
• Marshwood – RL Hollands
• Abbotsbury – Mary-Clare Buckle, Debbie Veitch, John Meaker

Opening times are normally 10am-5pm, but may vary. Some artists are also not open every day. For more details, look out for the leaflets being distributed around West Dorset.

“The British passport, designed by Stone in 1955, bears his engraving of the royal coat of arms and his elegant lettering.”

There’s a centenary exhibition of Stone’s work coming up in London. Reynolds Stone: Lettering, Logos and Landscapes, runs from Nov 6-21, Tues-Fri, 11am-4pm, Sat 10.30am-6pm, at Schneideman Gallery, 331 Portobello Rd, London W10 (0208 354 7365).

You can read the piece in The Times by clicking on this link, or there’s a website run by Stone’s estate at www.reynoldsstone.co.uk 

Various Dorset connections continue: Stone’s son Humphrey, for example, designed the excellent Dovecote Press series Discover Dorset; while one of his disciples, the Bridport graphic designer and carver Michael Harvey, now publishes entertainingly unusual photographic books about subjects such as bicycles and fire hydrants…