Wey Valley and All Saints exhibit work at Weymouth Museum

The museum, currently housed in its pop-up shop on St Thomas Street, has unveiled its latest exhibition titled ‘Sea, Sand and Quay’ incorporating work from pupils at Wey Valley and All Saints secondary schools.

Year 10 GCSE art students from All Saints worked with the collection of Ernest Bussell’s paintings held by the museum. A prominent ironmonger in the town, his paintings of Weymouth were donated to the museum by his widow in 1970 and have become an important collection of the museum.

The students researched the art, producing labels for the display together with their own paintings and line drawings they made from the same vantage points.

Student Maya Mustafa said: “It is good to see how Weymouth has progressed. Before things were mostly empty but now there are more buildings and more life."

Student Melissa Ward painted a cannon at Nothe Fort. She said: “I painted the Weymouth seafront because I think it is interesting to see Weymouth from a Nothe Fort point of view, with how it used to be. It was quite fun."

Year 9 art students at Wey Valley created Russian nesting dolls for an exhibit on leisure from the eighteenth-century showing costumes through the ages, with a particular focus on swimwear.

Student Sarah Hutchinson said: “We were shown some old swimsuits brought out from the museum. It was fun.

“I never really thought about the history of Weymouth, and this got me thinking about it.”

The new exhibit also tells the stories of life in Weymouth in the 1950s and 1960s, including what it was like to run a guest house, to work on the railway or at the quay.

Marcia Headon Weymouth Museum Chair said: “We are delighted there has been so much interest in our new exhibits. It has been wonderful hearing peoples’ memories being triggered by seeing items from the 1950s and 1960s.

“These exhibits are part of our intention to bring Weymouth’s story alive and to involve Weymouth people with their museum. 

“When we move back into Brewers Quay in 2024 in our brand-new museum the work which we are doing now on listening to people’s stories will be at the forefront of our exhibits. It will be part of the bid which we will be making to the Heritage Lottery Fund which has supported us so far.”

Weymouth Museum is also looking for more volunteers to act as stewards at the museum or be involved with conserving its huge collection which is held locally. They are also seeking for someone with marketing and design skills to join their Trustee Board.

If you are interested contact the museum pop-up shop.