Temporary Exhibitions at Arundells

Free the Bee

22nd April – 23rd May

Arundells is taking part in The Wild Escape in spring 2023. Led by the national art charity Art Fund with support from Arts Council England, we will be part of the largest ever collaboration between UK museums, alongside hundreds of other museums, galleries and historic houses.

Launching on Earth Day 2023, Saturday 22nd April, The Wild Escape will celebrate UK wildlife and imagine a better future for it.

Working between the house and garden, a group of children will learn about bees and their habitats with our friendly local wildlife expert. They will then head inside the house to see how artists across the world have been inspired by nature.

Inspired by a bee-shaped honeypot, we will invite the children to imagine the bee’s ‘escape’ back to its natural habitat. Why was the bee transformed into silver and glass? How did she become imprisoned in a mirrored cabinet? What animal friends in the collection can aid the escape? What habitat does the bee dream of returning to?

The pictures and stories that the children create will be displayed in our historic house alongside famous artists including John Singer Sargent, Lawrence Lowry and John Nash.

The exhibition of the children’s art will launch on Earth Day, which is also our (free entry) ‘Wild and Free’ open day at Arundells (click here for more information). On that day we will invite members of our community to contribute to a collaborative artwork, imagining an ideal habitat for a bee on a large scale. There will also be a pop-up display in the house highlighting objects from the collection inspired by the natural world.

Time and Tides

8th June – 18th July

An art exhibition from Salisbury Group Of Artists.

An exhibition by artists from Salisbury and the surrounding area in various medias. Vibrant and colourful pieces inspired by the elemental themes of ‘Time and Tides’.

Left: Under Chalk Hills by Loraine Sherlock

Right: Over the Bay by Annie George

Permanent Exhibitions at Arundells

The Soldier Exhibition

This small exhibition celebrates Edward Heath’s military service and highlights how this short, but full and often traumatic, period influenced and shaped his thoughts and views on many different subjects throughout his life.

Edward Heath’s uniform and medals form part of the exhibition and really help bring the words to life. 

Previous Exhibitions

Exodus: The Uganda Asians Crisis of 1972

12th August – 1st November 

In August 1972 Uganda’s President Idi Amin suddenly announced his intention to expel the Asian community from the country within 90 days. They were the beating heart of Uganda’s economy and around 30,000 of them were holders of British passports (albeit these didn’t guarantee a right of entry to Britain).  Whilst the British Government sought to reason with Amin and also to share the burden of refugees with other countries, the Government of Edward Heath accepted that Britain had a moral and humanitarian responsibility to care for the refugees.

The policy was initially supported by only 6% of the electorate and was politically courageous. The exhibition tells the story of the expulsion and how the Asians, stripped of their jobs, property and dignity came to Britain, and how the government and an army of volunteers made them welcome. It tells the story of the political struggle and how the refugees made a new life in a, sometimes, hostile climate. It is, however, a story with a moral – Britain’s compassion has been rewarded by the great contribution made to our national life by the Ugandan Asian community over the last 50 years.

The exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Ahluwalia Family Foundation and of the Rumi Foundation.

The Foundation is grateful for the work of its Advisory Group on the exhibition: Rt Hon Shailesh Vara M.P., Cllr Ravi Govindia and founder of Volcanoes Safaris and former Government Special Adviser, Praveen Moman.

Poets, Plumbers & Politicians- The Sculptures of Martin Jennings was on show at Arundells in 2022.

Images by John Rose Photography https://www.johnrosephotography.com/

In this unique exhibition, renowned sculptor Martin Jennings presents maquettes of his statues of famous national figures alongside the stories behind their full-size realisations. Exhibits range in size from a tiny 6ins high model of his sculpture of George Orwell outside the BBC to a cast of the larger-than-lifesize portrait bust of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Jennings is perhaps best known for his statue of Sir John Betjeman at St Pancras Station. He has twice won the Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture. His work is in private and public collections worldwide.

Jennings’ subjects include prominent figures from the worlds of politics, the military, royalty, academia, literature, industry, medicine and the law. In 1991 he was commissioned by the Oxford Union to make a bronze portrait bust of Sir Edward Heath. One of the casts was bought by the sitter himself and remains on display in the drawing room at Arundells, Heath’s former home.

As part of the Dreweatts Artist Insights series Jonathan Pratt talks to Martin about life as a portrait artist and his first visit to Arundells to meet Sir Edward Heath. Watch this fascinating conversation below.

ARCHIVE, IMAGES & MUSIC CREDITS Personal Archive & Exhibition Programme Imagery: Courtesy of Martin Jennings and Steve Russell Studios Images & Archive: Sir Archibald McIndoe | Courtesy of Queen Victoria Hospital Foundation Trust / East Grinstead Museum Images & Archive: Sir Edward Heath | Courtesy of Arundells, Salisbury Image: Sir John Betjeman statue from behind looking out at St. Pancras ceiling | Credit Ian Dick 2008 CC BY-SA 2.0 | via Flickr Music Track 1 : A Tender Heart | created by David Roy Collective | Artlist Music Track 2 : Spectacular | created by Piotr Hummel | Artlist Music Track 3: Fortitude | created by Lance Conrad | Artlist

The exhibition has kindly been sponsored by Dreweatts.

Dreweatts is a leading UK auctioneer of Fine Art, Furniture, Sculpture, European and Asian Ceramics and Works of Art, Modern Design, Jewellery, Watches, Silver, Clocks, Wine, Manuscripts and Miniatures, Books and Live Steam and Model Engineering. Based in Newbury, Berkshire. To find out more or get in touch, then click here.

Upcoming Event at Arundells