PEDAS, Poole & East Dorset Art Society
PEDAS, Poole & East Dorset Art Society
Poole & East Dorset Art Society is a long established and very active local art society. We were founded in 1924 and count notable figures such as Augustus John and Henry Lamb amongst our past members.
PEDAS is an inclusive society and welcomes artists in all media genres – figurative and abstract painters, sculptors, felters, embroiderers, photographers and installation artists.
WORKSHOPS: PEDAS hold lively workshops in Poole for members and visitors every Thursday evening or on the first Sunday afternoon each month. These range from simple still life sessions to highbrow discussions. We might be sculpting in clay or sketching digeridoo players-the programme is never dull or predictable!
PAINTING ‘OUT AND ABOUT’ Over the Summer months, we arrange weekly Thursday painting trips to local venues around Poole, Wimborne and the Purbecks, often arranging access to otherwise private venues.
PROJECTS: Regular challenging art projects are organized for members. Recently we have provided art work for waiting areas at Poole Hospital Trust, and have produced sculpture for an exhibition at The Study Gallery in Poole.
EXHIBITIONS: Members exhibitions are held at least twice a year, usually at the Gallery Upstairs in Upton Country Park. We have also held exhibitions in The Study Gallery, Scaplens Court and Poole Library, and have donated a permanent exhibition to the Radiotherapy Department at Poole Hospital. PEDAS also takes part in Dorset Art Weeks, a fortnight of exhibitions and open studios across the county, and hosts an open exhibition at The Gallery Upstairs in Upton Country Park.
MEMBERSHIP: around 100 members and a short waiting list for those who’d like to join.
Benefits for members include eligibility to exhibit with the society, discounted or free attendance at meetings and regular newsletters. Membership currently costs £30 per year.
NEWSLETTER: members are kept in touch with events by their bi-monthly newsletter.
THE GALLERY UPSTAIRS: PEDAS runs The Gallery Upstairs in Upton Country Park in partnership with the Borough of Poole. We aim to give all artists, professional and amateur a place to exhibit their work. The gallery is located in the beautiful surroundings of the country park on the edge of Holes Bay, only a mile or so from the centre of Poole.
2018
‘Art in the Heart of Poole’
1st – 12th August , open daily 9 am – 5 pm, (shorter Sunday opening times)
PEDAS Summer Exhibition in the Dolphin Centre
Eco Hub, Dolphin Centre, Poole BH15 1SZ (by the escalators)
A new venue for the Poole and East Dorset Art Society (PEDAS); the Eco Hub in the Dolphin Centre, Poole is a large, well-lit, well-located , family-friendly space that can be found near the escalators & Starbucks.
Exhibition features Members’ artworks large and small, subjects real and imagined, figurative and abstract.
Please come along to the Launch Party on 1st August, and apart from the exhibition of members’ work, PEDAS will be running workshops, on-the-spot demonstrations, talks, and other art and music events throughout with the help of John Bowen, Marylyn Cropley, Barry Kavanagh and others. For full programme of events:www.pedas.org.uk/index.html#
‘MODERNISM MEETS UPTON COUNTRY PARK’
Part of Dorset Art Weeks 2018
At The Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park, Poole BH17 7BJ
25 May – 11 June, 10 am – 5 pm
Art exhibition where members of Poole & East Dorset Art Society (PEDAS) celebrate the life and landscape of Upton Country Park in the mercurial styles of the great Modern Art Movements. The members’ work is alive with the vibrancy of Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and more.
The Gallery Upstairs is a family friendly and set in the delightful surroundings of ‘green flag’ parkland with shoreline and attractive estate gardens. Situated at the edge of Holes Bay, the park, ideal for children and dogs, has recently expanded to over 140 acres. Visitors enjoy orienteering, bird watching, picnicking, plant sales, cycling and Segway tours. The gallery is located above the tearooms.
ARCHIVE
2017 EXHIBITION
The Mayor of Poole was present to open the PEDAS Spring exhibition ‘FLAVOUR’. The exhibition is a sumptuous celebration of food and drink in drawing, painting and sculpture at The Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park.
For ‘Flavour’, PEDAS (Poole & East Dorset Art Society) members have been invited to explore the theme of food and drink in as broad a sense as they wish. A fantastic exhibition, it is clear that members have chewed over ideas and found much to get their teeth into.
Whilst doing so, the artists have been conscious of the suffering of so many in the famine currently affecting East Africa, so PEDAS will make a donation to East Africa Crisis appeal through Disasters Emergency Committee.
‘FLAVOUR’ is a sumptuous celebration of food and drink conveyed in drawing, painting, prints and sculpture 7th – 24th April, The Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park, Poole BH17 7BJ. Open daily 10 am – 5 pm, with full disabled access. www.thegalleryupstairs.org.uk
Caroline Robertson, our Chair, introducing the Mayor of Poole