The Mayor of Haslemere, Melanie Odell, officially opened the ‘Inspired By…’ exhibition at Haslemere Educational Museum this week. Eighteen adults who recently attended an eight week art course at the Museum are exhibiting their unique work in the Waverley Room. The project, now in its third year, was lead by local artist, Angela Thames. The course is designed to increase access to and appreciation of the Museum’s collections and to inspire new works of art. Angela Thames said, “The students were encouraged to use a sketchbook, supplied by The Art Dept in Weyhill, to research and develop their ideas. They then went on to produce a unique interpretation of their chosen object in any medium, which has resulted in this varied and imaginative exhibition”.

Each artwork in the exhibition is labelled with the artists’ name, a brief description of the work, and an image of the museum object that inspired them. Museum curator Julia Tanner stated, “We are delighted to present this brilliant exhibition for a third year. Some of the artists have returned to attend the course again, and each artist has been inspired by a different object and produced a unique creative response to it. We hope others will also be inspired by the exhibition to explore our collections in innovative ways”.

The exhibition is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm until February 27th. If you are interested in joining the fourth ‘Inspired By…’ art course in 2011 please contact the Museum on 01428 642112 or Angela Thames on 01428 713096 or art@angelathames.co.uk.