The Olympic sailing in Weymouth isn’t the only happening in Dorset this summer. The picturesque and sleepy county is also set to host two blue ribbon Cultural Olympiad events.
First up is a series of artworks and installations inspired by Dorset’s Jurassic Coast organised by ExLab (Exploratory Laboratory). The series will showcase a mix of paintings, 2D and 3D renderings, curations of stories and films at five visually stunning locations along the World Heritage Site.
One of ExLab’s most interesting offerings comes from artist Simon Ryder, who has used contemporary landscape scanning techniques, usually the preserve of the military, geologists and archaeologists to produce works that explore the nuances of scale.
Next is the b-side Multimedia Festival. Now in its third year, the festival runs July 27 to August 12 in Weymouth coinciding with the Olympics and August 29 to September 9 in Portland coinciding with the Paralympics.
b-side is all about contemporary art. The theme this year is the “flipside of the coast”. Contributors have been asked to explore the “margins, boundaries, portals and departure points” of the coast using visual art, digital media, performance and film.
Works will be situated in places where you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see them, such as pubs, churches, alleyways, car parks, swimming pools, bridges and bus stops. And word is, there’s going to be a pedal powered cinema and an underwater wheelchair. We’re not sure how, or how well, those will work, but they’ve piqued our interest nonetheless.
Read all our Olympic Games coverage:
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Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
