Community
Our work with communities
We work in partnership with local people and community groups to share our heritage – creating, learning and discovering together.
Using the museum’s collections, we explore the story of our city, the people who call it home, and the amazing landscape that surrounds us.
We work with people of all ages and perspectives, and our aim is to make the museum a trusted social space, community resource and cultural hub.
Get in touch: please contact Bridget Telfer, the Community Curator, bridgettelfer@salisburymuseum.org.uk; 01722 332151
Current Projects
Conversation Club – a monthly club bringing people together through conversation and objects.
Aimed at older people who are lonely or isolated. Participants enjoy the museum and its collections, explore shared heritage through museum objects, and find new connections with others. This club is suitable for people in the early stages of dementia and their carers.
Conversation Club takes place on the third Monday of each month, 10.30am–12.00pm. The cost is £4 per person (accompanying carer is free). Please book your first visit.
ESOL student folk project – a project working with ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) students from Wiltshire College to explore folk culture from their countries of origin and what folk means to them today. Working with the print maker Hannah Cantellow, they are creating an artwork to be included in the museum’s forthcoming exhibition Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex (February-May 2026).
Intergenerational Oral History Project – a project bringing older and younger people together across the city for fun and good conversation. Participants meet up in a friendly, facilitated group to explore objects and photos from the museum collection, and to talk about their lives and living in Salisbury – past and present.
Well-City Salisbury – free 10-week long creative courses for people living with mental health needs. Salisbury Museum is a delivery partner for the project, along with the four project leads ArtCare UK, Wessex Archaeology, Wiltshire Creative and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. This project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
If you would like to find out more information about the project and creative courses offered, please get in touch with Zoe the Project Coordinator, wellcity.salisbury@wessexarch.co.uk; 07707 296883
Coming in 2026:
Accessible tours and object handling for people living with dementia, visually impaired people, and families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – look out for the launch of these tours in 2026, with themes including Animals and Beasts, Crime and Punishment, the World Wars, and Faces Through Time.
Sensory backpacks – available to borrow during a museum visit containing resources to support families with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Relaxed opening hours – designated times when our museum is adjusted to pro-actively welcome visitors with sensory sensitivities and neurodiversity.
Past projects:
A touch of Frink (June – July 2025) – a creative course for visually impaired people, inspired by the artwork of Elisabeth Frink. Participants joined Salisbury Museum and sculptor Miles Bodimeade to explore the museum’s Frink exhibition. Over the course of 6 weeks participants learnt about her artistic practice, took part in a touch tour of the exhibition, and created their own sculptures made out of mudroc.
If you are interested in any of the above projects – or have a new community project you would like to explore – please contact Bridget Telfer, the Community Curator.
