to involve, inspire and entertain
For 30 years, Dorchester ARTS has engaged tens of thousands of people in a wide variety of arts events - from huge outdoor events to small scale children's theatre.
We are an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation, providing a range of performing, participatory and visual arts opportunities for people in Dorset.
We are a registered charity and a limited company - run by a paid staff of four, supported by dozens of volunteers and a voluntary board of management. We’re based in a former Victorian school building owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. Dorchester ARTS' strength (September 2011) is Socially Engaged Participatory Activity.
Our centre in School Lane Dorchester is used as a performance space for audiences of up to 100, a gallery for two annual exhibitions of visual arts, a workshop space for theatre and dance companies developing new work, and a workshop space for dance, singing, youth theatre, animation work and more.
For more than ten years Dorchester ARTS has been at the heart of an extraordinary series of multicultural festivals in the county town. With the support of funders and the wider community DA has brought a wide variety of international artists to Dorset to inspire and energise local engagement and participation.
Dorchester ARTS is a key partner in INSIDE OUT Dorset's alternate year festival of extraordinary events in extraordinary places which relies heavily on both the professional and volunteer expertise of DA
Company limited by guarantee no: 2752793, Registered Charity no: 1015546