Immersions: Into the River Cam, Robinson College, Cambridge
June 22nd-26th 2022
Take a breath, immerse yourself into the watery depths of the River Cam and its tributaries in a new exhibition and public programme with 30 artists and contributors. Dive into a multitude of artworks exploring stories told from the water’s eye. Opening up a space for reflection, we ask who does the river belong to, how can it become a space of commons and not of division, and how can we better care for this fluid being?
Find yourself swimming in Grantchester Meadows in a newly commissioned film by Phoebe Bostock, discover the hidden histories of women’s labour in the city with work by Abi Spendlove or encounter the ecological pollution in Samuel Johnson’s interactive work ‘Entropy’. The exhibition flows between the spaces of Robinson College Chapel and into its vault where Bin Brook runs underneath from the garden and into the River Cam. From poetry, sculpture, photography, interactive installations, painting and print, the River Cam is brought to life in all its complexity, recognising its engagement with colonial, patriarchal and class histories and periods of ecological misuse, but also finding hope in the communities that it draws together today and in changing attitudes and practices.
Cambridge-based artists and those making art around the River Cam are at the heart of this exhibition which brings together town and university. Through this commingling of different but neighbouring streams we hope to build more bridges between the city's various communities.
Join us for our programme of events running throughout the exhibition, including a Poetry and Performance Evening on Thursday 23rd June and In the Room, a music concert on Friday 24th June by Stomping Ground, as well Singing the Installation Workshops with Sue Parlby on Friday 24th and Sunday 26th.
Review by Varsity Arts here
Wednesday 22.06 // 6:30-8:30pm Opening book here
Thursday 23.06 // 6-8:00pm Poetry and Performance Evening book here
Friday 24.06 // 2-3:30pm Singing the Installation Workshop with Sue Parlby book here
Friday 24.06 // 6:30-7:45pm In the Room by Stomping Ground book here
Sunday 26.06 // 11am-12:30pm Singing the Installation Workshop with Sue Parlby book here
Artist contributors and performers:
Katy Bailey, Joshua Bilton, Phoebe Bostock, Jonny Church, Tam Cochrane, Jo Gifford, Robert Good, Phoebe Hudson, Sue Lawley, Jessica Leigh Henry, Susie Johnson, Linute Jusevičiūtė, Chris Kington, Alastair Kwan, Max Lee, Marion Leeper, Melissa Lhoirit, Ella Luben, Mollie Mclellan, Daniela Mendes, Nicholas O’Neill, Sue Parlby, Sophia Pauley, Maria Picazo, Pri Pais, Samuel Joshua Richardson, Abi Spendlove, Sarah Strachan, Alice Willitts, Caroline Wright.
Curators:
Mattie O’Callaghan and Holly Pines
Mattie O'Callaghan (she/they)
Mattie is a curator, writer and spoken word artist. Their work explores how we can better live together on our fragile planet. They are currently exploring community garden spaces and bridging the gap between art and landscape architecture. They graduated from Girton College, Cambridge in 2020 in Geography and are graduating with an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art.
Holly Pines (she/her)
Holly is a curator, with a background in socially engaged photography and feminist politics. She worked on the Women at Cambridge programme at the University Library and curated a portrait rehang in the main corridors. Her current work explores ways to incorporate notions of care within the curatorial and is graduating with an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art.
Follow @mattie.ocallaghan and @pollyhines
Supported by Robinson College and Cam Valley Forum
Poetry and Performance Evening, Thursday 23rd June 6-8pm
Join us for a processional performance evening on Thursday 23 June beginning in Robinson College Chapel and travelling out to the Bin Brook and the gardens, experiencing a variety of poetry and spoken word by a selection of creatives connecting to the River Cam and its tributaries. As part of Immersions: Into the River Cam.
Performances will pause on the bridges of Robinson College to reflect upon the connective nature of these spaces. There will also be opportunity to give an offering back to the water, sharing gratitude for the river and its communities. Kindly organised with Alice Willitts.
Performers: kin'd & kin'd (Kay Syrad and Clare Whistler), Marion Leeper, JLM Morton, Alice Willitts, and Elizabeth Lewis Williams
Singing the Installation, Workshop with Sue Parlby, Friday 24th June 2-3:30pm and Sunday 26th June 11-12:30pm
Drawing on Australian Aboriginal songlines and oral song traditions from cultures strongly rooted in nature and the elements - this workshop will take you on a singing journey, in honour of the River Cam and its tributaries as the source of inspiration and creativity. In collaboration with the exhibition Immersions: Into the River Cam, in its beautiful setting embracing Bin Brook.
Expect to experience being playful with your voice, some guided improvisation and learning a few simple songs such as Sami “Joiks” as a member of our temporary tribe. Led by Sue Parlby - a founder member of the Natural Voice Network and over 30 years experience as a vocal facilitator with groups in different settings - everything will be taught by ear.
Open to everyone, with no singing experience required. The 1.5 hour workshop will include walking around different spaces, inside and out.
Donations raised for Friends of the River Cam.
In the Room by Stomping Ground, Music Concert, Friday 24th June 6:30-7:45pm
In the Room reimagines the artist’s studio as a personal, sacred space through the affecting sonatas of Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704), an Italian nun and composer. The evening features new music by five composers including current Cambridge composer Georgia Denham, specifically about Rowing on the River Cam.
Ensemble Renard: Ellie Blamires, flute, Francesca Cox, oboe, Holly Isherwood, clarinet, George Strivens, horn, Patrick Bolton, bassoon, Joined by Julian Chan, piano