A visit took place to Strawberry Hill House and Gardens for members and guests with a guided tour. Following lunch in the cafe, there was the opportunity to explore the amazing house and grounds at leisure before returning home. 

This workshop for local young wind instrumentalists  was organised by the Poole Society for Young Musicians and was sponsored by The Arts Society Poole with a Patricia Fay grant from The Arts Society. Coaching was undertaken by the Dagoda quintet and the young musicians joined the quintet in their concert following the workshop. 

This lecture was sponsored jointly by Bournemouth , Wimborne and Poole Arts Societies and students were  invited from local schools and colleges.  The lecture was The Magic of Illusion presented by John Ericson.

A post Christmas Celebration Lunch was held at The Cliff, Canford Cliffs and was a good occasion for meeting up with other members and guests. 

A short break holiday to Puglia took place and included visits to Matera, Lecce, Aberbello and Castel de Monte. This was the sixth overseas holiday in recent years. 

Together with Bournemouth and East Dorset Arts Society we visited Forde Abbey, Somerset and viewed the historoic house and the wonderful gardens with their famous cascade fountains - all in glorious sunsunshine!

We received a grant which funded a community clay artist Debbie Clark to work with children at Langside special school who have profound physical and learning disbailites. Each child made 2 coaster sized tiles to represent themselves - one tile for a memory wall at the school and one to take home. 

Following last year's successful event, another  post Christmas lunch for members and guests was held at the Miramar Hotel on Thursday, 23th January. 37 members and guests attended and enjoyed a 3-course meal in the main restaurant with delightful sea views. 

Our society, together with Wimborne and Bournemouth arts societies was pleased to sponsor a lecture for sixth formers held at the Arts University Bournemouth. The topic was the photographer Lee Miller.

A group of 24, mainly from our society flew from Bournemouth to Malaga. After a short  stop in Ronda, a town dramatically set above a deep gorge, the destination was Seville, for a 3-night stay.  Two rainy days were spent exploring the city with a  guide (which included an amazing Flamenco show) before moving on to Grenada for a 2-night stay, this time with a stop in Cordoba to visit the immense and iconic Mezquita Cathedral (mosque/cathedral).  In Grenada, thankfully the sun finally appeared in time for our visit to the world-famous Alhambra, a sprawling fortress complex with amazing palaces, courtyards and gardens set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The holiday proved sucessful despite the weather and it is hoped that another holiday will take place next year. 

We were awarded a Community Grant of £250 to fund a local artist Deborah Clark of "Creative Clay for All" to provide a workshop using clay to a group from Dorset Blind Assocation. They were able to "put their personalities into hand-made mugs" and enjoyed working with the tactile material.  

Following a successful application for a Patricia Fay award, a group of young people and members of the Young People's team at the Bourne Valley Hub were able to come to a series of print making workshops and learn techniques which can be rolled out to future groups.  An exhibition for family and friends is planned. 

A post Christmas lunch for members and guests was held at the Miramar Hotel on Thursday, 25th January. 37 members and guests attended and enjoyed a 3-course meal in the main restaurant with delightful sea views. 

The Arts Society Poole was pleased to contribute funding to a lecture for young people entitled "Hidden Canvases" . Local schools had been invited and the lecture showed different kinds of street art including Banksy. 

Our visit in June had perfect weather for enjoying the delighful Pugin Hall and gardens near Dorchester. The Grade 1 listed Hall was designed by Augustus Pugin who was an architect for the Houses of Parliament - a rare example of a family home.

Our successful bid for a community grant from the Arts Society has contributed to the funding for an artist, Adele Cleaver to run 6 pop-up playground sessions. This "Creatives in the Community" project was commissioned by Poole Museum and brings art related activities for children to local venues. 

Our first social event of 2023 was a lunch held for members at the RNLI Coillege on a cold, but sunny day in February and we were able to enjoy the wonderful views over Poole harbour.   Having our lunch at the RNLI also meant that we were supporting the RNLI charity -  an added bonus.   

Together with our neighbouring socieities in Bournemouth and Wimborne, we were pleased to sponsor a lecture for 120 young people and their teachers held at the Arts Universitty Bournemouth. The lecture  "Art of the 21st century" was presented by Anna Moszynska and was followed by homemade cakes and the chance to discuss ideas about art. 

Thanks to a Community Grant of £250 from The Arts Society, we were able to fund a brilliant “willow and weaving” day workshop at Oakdale Junior School with Year 4 classes, bringing in a local artist, Fran Quinlan, who created a bespoke workshop to fit around the school’s ethos of being “affordable, sustainable and using natural colours and materials”. 

The children had a great session which introduced them to weaving and shaping willow to create circles for a giant oak leaf and acorn art piece.