The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - CURRENT EVENT
​The Hidden Side of The Museum at Dorset Museum (FSAL 2025)
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"Work experience" is a strange term for creative students. How do you provide 130+ individuals with meaningful opportunities that cater to every niche of creative interest?
At Weymouth College’s Art Department, we do things differently. Instead of traditional placements, we have a real-world commissioning brief—an ambitious artistic takeover of Dorset Museum. Every student plays a role, whether in research, idea negotiation, making, marketing, advertising, management, documentation, curation, installation, sales, or hosting. This hands-on experience truly prepares them for future creative careers.
This year’s commission was set by the founder of OSR Projects and OD Art Festival, challenging students to explore the hidden narratives behind museum collections—the stories behind the objects and how they came to be there. A visit to Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, along with guided tours of Dorset County Museum, provided vital context, helping students analyse the collections with a critical eye.
Focusing on Dorset County Museum’s holdings, students uncovered histories of colonialism, trade, questionable acquisition methods, and enslavement—all with direct connections to Dorset. These discoveries sparked passionate discussions and inspired their creative responses.
Students then selected their industry groups, each supported by an artist or industry professional for two weeks of intensive research and creation. For many, this was their first experience collaborating with creatives outside their usual academic circles. Degree students, Foundation Diploma students, and Level 3 & Level 2 learners worked side by side, blending skills and perspectives to meet the commission’s demands.
The result? A powerful artistic takeover of Dorset Museum. The students’ work dissected and reinterpreted the hidden narratives of the collection, displayed alongside the original artefacts. Over 400 visitors walked through the museum doors—many from creative industries—engaging with the students’ thought-provoking responses.
I couldn’t be more proud of what was achieved. Kim Short
The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - PAST EVENT
​Layers and Traces at Nothe Fort (FSAL 2024)
The fifth gathering of the Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers was held at the Nothe Fort in March 2024. A multi-sensory event that included; Parade banners and placards, a huge inflatable piece, painted canvases exploring the topography of the Fort, a walk-through tunnel made from repurposed textiles, an interactive drawing workshop and performances inspired by the various histories and functions of the fort.
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Titled Layers & Traces this event was the culmination of a research-led, work experience project that involved all students across the creative arts at Weymouth College. The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers were set the task to make work that revealed the Layers & Traces, new and old, etched into the fabric of this renowned heritage site.
The project included dedicated research time at Nothe Fort and workshops run by professionals from across the arts. These were facilitated by college lecturers and over two weeks, this brand new work was produced.
The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - PAST EVENT
​This Is Now at Dorset Museum (FSAL 2023)
Working in partnership with Dorset Museum This is Now explored the museum’s collection and looked at how creative practitioners learn from, and are inspired by, the museum artifacts. And in turn, how contemporary creative responses breath new life into the museum’s collection.
This was the fourth gathering of the Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers. Devised as a form of radical work experience This is Now is a research-led project that will involve all students across all the creative arts at Weymouth College. The project will include dedicated research time at Dorset Museum and the production of new work, that will be made over a period of two weeks at Weymouth College and exhibited & performed at the Museum. Alongside the research and creative production students will contribute to all aspects of the project including; exhibition planning, working with project partners, marketing, press and promotion, documentation and evaluation.
As with previous iterations of FSAL students will work in groups to develop projects supported by staff members. There will be a ‘pioneer’ group established consisting of student representatives from each course. This group will make key strategic decisions relating to the direction of project and be representatives for the rest of the participating students.
Alongside project leader Simon Lee Dicker other professional artists with a background in working in a museum and heritage context will be invited to deliver presentations and workshops. These will take place leading up to, and during the first week of production in February.
The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - PAST EVENT
​‘In nature nothing exists alone’ Rachel Carson, (FSAL 2022)
The 2022 mission was to make new work that explores personal and collective ideas responding to this evocative quote, with a strong focus on sustainable practice. The programme of talks, workshops and projects, which ran from 7-18 February, was given by artists and creative practitioners whose work and practice helped to inspire an energetic response and sense of environmental responsibility in the artistic labourers.
Creative production centred around a collective work, entitled Eco Guilt Filter, led by Simon Lee Dicker that all students participated in, alongside subject specific activities led by lecturers.
Two weeks of conceptualising, making, rehearsing and refining has led to the production and presentation of new work exhibited and performed at a public outcome taking place in March 2022 at the Nothe Fort in Weymouth. The particular architecture and aesthetics of Nothe Fort act as the canvas for the work rather than the subject.
Led by Simon Lee Dicker, artist and co founder of OSR Projects, this partnership with Weymouth College and Nothe Fort has enabled over 130 students to gain live industry experience and to develop their creative practices through the production of collaborative and cross-disciplinary art.
The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - PAST EVENT
ONLINE EVENT, Weymouth 2021 (FSAL 2021)
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Using the same approach as the previous FSAL in 2020, a ‘pioneers’ committee of around 30 students, representing all subject areas, act as a steering group for the project.
Between 1-5 February 2021 a series of presentations, provocations and workshops, run by our associated creative practitioners, took place on-line. This helped students to broaden their knowledge of contemporary arts practice through the exploration of different notions of ‘Protection and Survival’.
The intention was not for students to re-present the history of Nothe Fort, but to make new work that explores personal and collective ideas of Protection & Survival.
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Artist Simon Lee Dicker and the staff of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Weymouth College led the coordination of artist and audience experience.
As a consequence of the Covid 19 lockdowns this event was presented digitally on the website and via a LIVE STREAM, followed later by a small public exhibition at the Fort.
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The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers - PAST EVENT
In the beginning (FSAL 2020)
The friendly Society of Artistic Labourers was established in 2019 as a way for students of creative arts to gain meaningful industry experience and produce work for live and interactive audiences. The program is led by established artists and includes talks, workshops and collaborative cross disciplinary groups working together on all aspects of delivering a festival from inception to production.
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The first F.S.A.L. festival took place at Shire Hall Historic Courthouse in February 2020 and included a parade, exhibition and series of events.
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The name, The friendly Society of Artistic Labourers, takes its lead from the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the birth of the Trade Union Movement during the agricultural revolution, where a group of six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset were convicted at Shire Hall Court House in 1834 of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers.
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