Immersions: Into the River Cam
22 June — 26 June 22

          Max Lee
                   
            Curated by Mattie O’Callaghan and Holly Pines, Robinson College 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.

Mattie O'Callaghan and Holly Pines

Events (booking recommended)

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:

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

After the Opening event, the exhibition is open:
Open 11-5, Thursday and Friday 23rd/24th, 
Open 11-3, Saturday and Sunday 25th/26th. 
Robinson College, Cambridge, CB3 9AN 

 Linute Jusevičiūtė