Chippenham Museum

15/10/2026

Today's Art UK theme is 'contemporary portraiture' for The Armitt : Museum, Gallery, Library's current exhibition, 'Club Culture Cumbria'.

David Atkinson lectured at the Bath Academy of Art during the 1970s and 1980s. His drawing 'Portrait of a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' shows James Joyce, with its title referencing Joyce’s famous novel. The portrait is inspired by a photograph of the writer by Russian-French photographer Boris Lipnitski (1887-1971).

Atkinson has explained these external influences on his work: 'Influences have been many and varied. Obviously artists who work in the same field, but increasingly the work of poets, novelists, composers, film and video - a kind of conversation between all the arts that comes from an appreciation of each other's work.'

'Portrait of a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' can be seen in our current exhibition, 'What’s in Store', which showcases recent additions to the museum collection, ranging from Bronze Age pottery to Modern and Contemporary art. The exhibition runs until 21 November 2026 and is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, with free entry.

🖼️ Portrait of a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 2020, David Atkinson, ink, pencil, watercolour drawing on paper, part of the Golder-Thompson Gift

13/10/2026

11/10/2026

In our final Collection Conversation of 2026, we will be joined by Ellie Thompson and Sam Heath.

Ellie Thompson is an artist practising in the South West. Thompson’s interest in schadenfreude, anatomy and a cartoonish sense of humour informs each of her soft sculptures. Her puppet-like characters are at once extinct and alive, forever stuck in a sticky situation. Though motionless, Thompson’s skeletons are animated by their all-seeing yet unknowing eyes.

Sam Heath studied at Camberwell College of Arts and Cardiff School of Art and Design. Following a three-year residency at Leighton Park School in Reading, he has continued to teach drawing and printmaking in schools and colleges, alongside exhibiting and curating shows in London and the South West. Regular drawing from life is an essential activity that informs Heath’s practice. He repeatedly depicts the same familiar subjects, particularly his immediate family and friends.

📅 Saturday 14 November
🕒 2.00pm - 3.30pm
🎟️ Free, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/NovemberTalkTickets

Left image: My Finest Hour, 2024, Ellie Thompson, felt fabric and wire
Right image: Sophie at The Three Crowns, 2017, Sam Heath, monotype

10/10/2026

What can a camera, a ration book and a prize certificate tell us about one Chippenham family?

This display in our new exhibition features recently gifted items belonging to photographer Sydney Porter and his family. Alongside photographs documenting local events, such as Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations in Chippenham, are personal objects that offer a glimpse into everyday life.

Together, these photographs and personal belongings reveal the lives of the Porter family across more than a century. From Sydney's career as a photographer to his son Arthur's work behind the camera, and from Elsie's wartime identity card to her First Prize certificate for strawberry jam in 1949, the objects on display tell a remarkable story of work, family life and photography in Chippenham.

Visit the museum to explore the exhibition and discover more about the people behind the photographs.

👉 What's in Store
📅 Closes Saturday 21 November
🕒 Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
🎟️ Free entry

09/10/2026

Become a member of the Friends of Chippenham Museum:
✍️ Complete form at Museum or online
💷 Pay £5 at Museum or via BACS (Membership renewal every 1 July)

Find out more about becoming a Friend: http://www.chippenham.gov.uk/.../friends-of-chippenham...

08/10/2026

EXHIBITION NEWS - Sponsor a Print 🖼️

You can help support the work of Chippenham Museum by sponsoring a print in our upcoming exhibition, 'Jack Shirreff and the 107 Workshop', running from Saturday 6 March to Saturday 5 June 2027.

This exciting exhibition will celebrate the work of Master Printer Jack Shirreff, whose print studio, 107 Workshop, worked with some of the biggest names in modern post-war British art, including Howard Hodgkin, Gillian Ayres and Joe Tilson.

The exhibition will be an opportunity for Chippenham Museum to display several works produced at 107 Workshop, which were recently donated to the collection.

Your contribution will go towards supporting the exhibition, including the specialist conservation framing of these large-scale prints, allowing them to be displayed for the very first time.

In recognition of your support, sponsors will be acknowledged in the exhibition’s acknowledgement panel and receive an invitation to a special private view event.

Sponsorship starts from as little as £25. We also welcome support for the wider exhibition, or you can sponsor one of a number of prints.

For more information or to make an online donation, follow the link 🔗 bit.ly/PrintSponsorship

Donations can also be made in person at Chippenham Museum by cash, cheque or card.

🎨 Lobster, 1982, Michael Heindorff, etching with carborundum

06/10/2026

Are you thinking about Halloween, or October Half-Term, yet?

The popular Pumpkin Patch is returning for 2026. This year, 400 FREE pumpkins will be available in the Market Place for you to choose from and take home to carve, ready for the spooky celebrations.
Pumpkins will be available on a first come, first served basis, so make sure you head down early to pick your perfect pumpkin and avoid disappointment.

To find out what else is on, including shows at Neeld Community & Arts Centre and activities at Chippenham Museum, visit bit.ly/Halloween_26

04/10/2026

Design, carve and hand-print your very own collection of linocut Christmas cards with printmaker Claire Selman. All materials are included. As printing can be a messy process, we advise you to bring an apron or wear suitable clothes.

📅 Thursday 12 November
🕒 7pm - 9pm
🎟️ £22, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/LinocutCardWorkshop

No prior experience is required, so everyone is welcome to get creative and try something new. Suitable for ages 16 and over.

Please note that bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.

03/10/2026

NEW EXHIBITION - What's in Store

The exhibition will feature objects ranging from the prehistoric period right up to the present day. It will include archaeological finds from recent excavations, as well as items relating to local industries and businesses, alongside toys, costume and photographs. New acquisitions to the museum’s Modern and Contemporary Art Collection will also be on display, including works by Robin Tanner and Henry Cliffe.

The exhibition celebrates not only the breadth of history and creativity in the area, but also the generosity of the people who have donated these items to the museum and help to make its work possible.

Alongside this, discover the results of recent community projects, including the work of the museum’s Young Curators Group.

📅 Saturday 3 October - Saturday 21 November
🕒 Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
🎟️ Free entry

02/10/2026

📣

Join us next Saturday, 10 October, for the next instalment of our free art talk series. Get your tickets while you still can!

More details and booking below 👇

In October’s instalment of our free art talk series, we will be joined by Morag Ballard and Helen Simmonds.

Morag Ballard’s education at Chelsea School of Art led her to study sculpture at the Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, where she found the freedom to further explore her interest in spatial expression. Here, she studied under Michael Pennie and Ken Hughes and encountered some of the leading British sculptors of the day, including Richard Deacon and Antony Gormley.

Helen Simmonds studied sculpture at the Bath Academy of Art, Corsham. A love of Thomas Hardy’s novels, rich with the beauty of Wessex, influenced her decision to study there. After graduating, she stopped making sculpture and set up her first painting studio at Pickwick Lodge Farm outside Corsham. In 1993, she moved to Calne and had a studio at the Old Guthrie School foundry and studios, set up by the sculptor and bronze founder Richard Cowdy. They married a few years later. Around this time, she became preoccupied with still life painting, such as her ‘Blue and Green Bottles, Roses, and Delft Tile’.

📅 Saturday 10 October
🕒 2.00pm - 3.30pm
🎟️ Free, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/OctoberTalkTickets

Left image: AUDIO, 2010, Morag Ballard, mixed media relief
Right image: Blue & Green Bottles, Roses & Delft Tile, Helen Simmonds, oil on linen, gift of the artist