A message from our Chairman:

Welcome to ExeDFAS, a member society of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies. 

We are based in the beautiful River Exe estuary in Devon. Our 260 members come principally from the towns and villages along the river estuary, including Exmouth, Topsham, Lympstone and Exton, and the nearby coastal towns and villages of East Devon namely Budleigh Salterton, Colaton Raleigh, Woodbury, East Budleigh and Otterton. We also have members from the County town of Exeter and the surrounding Devon countryside.

ExeDFAS was founded in 1987 with the object of all NADFAS Societies of the promotion and advancement of the aesthetic education of the public, the cultivation, appreciation and study of the decorative and fine arts, and the giving of aid to the preservation of our national artistic heritage for the benefit of the public.

We do this by meeting once a month from October to June, at Matthews Hall in Topsham - the ancient port of Exeter on the River Exe - for lectures on a wide range of subjects on the decorative and fine arts by expert speakers, including from time to time, architecture and music. In addition, we normally have three Special Interest Days during the season where members can learn and study a subject in more detail.

Our season includes a number of visits to venues that provide an opportunity to see places of historic and artistic value, usually with specialist guides, and annually we have a cultural tour to a location abroad. These tours are almost always oversubscribed within days of announcement.  And, we have a number of social gatherings for members during the year.

I am very proud to say that out Heritage Volunteers have been working in Exeter Cathedral Library for a good number of years, cleaning and cataloguing the collection, and we have started a Church Recording Group.

The support for Young Arts too, is a most important part of the Society's activities, and we continue to work with schools in our catchment area to promote the appreciation and development of artistic appreciation in young people.

As the current Chairman of the Society, being appointed in June 2009, it is an enormous pleasure to be the first to write this welcome introduction to our new website. Within the site, you will find more details of all the activities that I have touched upon.

Due to the limitations on the capacity of Matthews Hall in Topsham we are constrained to a membership of 260, and this is always complete, with a waiting list, which our hardworking Membership Secretary endeavours to manage so that those on it do not have too long to wait; waiting list members can attend a number of lectures during the year while they are waiting to join. However, I do hope that this will not preclude potential members from coming forward and reading more about us in the website.

I consider it a great honour and privilege to be the Chairman of such an active, successful and progressive Society and do hope that you find our website informative and helpful.

                                                            Maureen De Viell OBE
                                                            Chairman