One Day Museum
A pop-up event. Curated by David Bellingham in which found objects were reimagined through an inventive approach to materials and playful conversation. In our museum, the exhibits were illuminated through a focus on their actuality rather than their prior usage or history - with an emphasis on things as they are rather than things as they were.
One Day Museum Workshops
Workshops held on Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th April, 10am to 4pm attended by children, young people and adults from age 6 to 69 years.
They provided inspiration, context and permission to play. Participants came along with a selection of items for temporary display in the One Day Museum and David expertly led a process to rethink how we relate to 'things'.
Everyday things, cherished, loved, unloved, lost and found things, things of beauty and not so, things with purpose or repurposed.
Imaginary maps of Sidmouth were created, rubbings of streetwear were made, dots were drawn and joined.
Recycled packing boxes became other things, places to display and places to play.
We thought about real museums and their departments
- Botany
- Archaeology / anthropology
- Local history
- Social history
- Industrial history
- Clothing / textiles
- Arts
- Science
- Books (for the museum library)
and about Things in a museum of the imagination
- collecting things
- moving things from one place to another
- taking things for a walk
- renaming things
- adapting things
- combining things
- new uses for old things
- new stories for old things
- paying attention to things
Everything was recorded, labelled, some things joined other things, stories were told - real and imagined, names were given, collections created.
Some were funny, some were poignant, intriguing, mischievous, inventive, historical, accurate, fictional, curious, clever, dull, fascinating.
Together a new collection was created and curated for a one day pop-up museum which was open to the public on Saturday 13th April.
A new museum collection for Sidmouth
Photo credit Sarah Hall Photography
David Bellingham in Sidmouth
David makes things to hang on the wall, things to sit on the floor and things to place on the table. Things that look like themselves rather than things that look like other things. Things to pick up and things to put down; things to look at and things to look away from. Things to hold on to and things to give away. Things to keep inside and things to leave outside. Things to remember and things to forget.
The community was invited to take part in creating the One Day Museum and in the creation of two audio installations for the Museums of Antiquities and Contemporary Art - Sidmouth's iconic red telephone box art spaces.
David's work Sidmouth Beauty Spots is also on view at Wallspace from 2nd April.
It is not where you take things from, it is where you take them to.Jean-Luc Godard
Don’t ask what the work is. Rather, see what the work does.Eva Hesse
The One Day Museum at Kennaway House
The cardboard box - repurposed

David Bellingham
ArtistDavid Bellingham is an artist of near total obscurity, who scratches a living making and mending. His work is occasionally to be found in the regions but it does not stay long and is hard to spot. The work takes its chances in the open air traveling by word of mouth, as recollection and anecdote.
Bellingham was born in South London and lives and works in Glasgow and Copenhagen.

Potburys Removals & Storage
We are grateful for the kind support from Potburys for donating the cardboard boxes. These provided an innovative art material for The One Day Museum - a great example of local business collaboration, innovation and recycling.

Combe Garden Centre
We are grateful for the kind support from Combe Garden Centre, Honiton for the loan of plants for the One Day Museum. The beautiful plants borrowed provided a wonderful feel and connection to nature as part of the One Day Museum exhibition.