Open House Artist Residency

Open House is a long-term collaboration between Kettle’s Yard and our neighbouring communities in North Cambridge.

Open House welcomes an Artist in Residence each year, selected by the community, to explore the local area, collaborate with local residents and create new artwork together.

The resources on the sidebar allow you to find out about our experiences and learning since the programme began.

Open House is made possible by the generous support from Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Cambridge City Council, Artisa Foundation and Arts Council England.

Find out about Open House activity through our fascinating library of newsletters and films. Click here to experience the celebratory outcomes of Open House residencies as well as watch films created by participants inspired by artist residencies.

Art and creativity is central to Open House activity. Click here to find things to do and make which have been shared and created by the North Cambridge community through Open House projects and workshops.

Open House Artist in Residence 2018

At a public meeting at the Meadows Community Centre, members of the public voted to select Hannah Kemp-Welch as the next Open House Artist in Residence for North Cambridge. Hannah will be working with communities in North Cambridge to creatively respond to the local area from now until March 2019.

Hannah’s practice is in new media arts – working primarily with sound. She is keen to share her enthusiasm for sound art, and spark people’s interest in listening to the world around us.

Open House will be running free drop-in workshops with Hannah and our team of artists at community events in North Cambridge this summer, including Arbury Carnival on Saturday 9 June and Chesterton Festival Family Fun Day on Saturday 23 June so please come along and see us!

Harold Offeh Artist in Residence 2017

At a public meeting at North Cambridge Academy on the 24th February, members of the public and students at the school voted to select Harold Offeh as the next Open House Artist in Residence for North Cambridge. Harold worked with communities in North Cambridge to explore the local area from February – September 2017.

On September 16 Harold invited members of the public to join him in a celebration of local food and domestic design at a Gathering in North Cambridge Academy. The event featured displays from North Cambridge community groups, tastings from local bakers, tips on growing your own food from gardeners and activities for all ages. Following the Gathering, Harold hosted a Feast for members of the community who had contributed in some way to the Gathering. See photos of the day on the Open House Facebook page.

You are Here – Isabella Martin Artist in Residence 2016

The second Open House Artist in Residence, Isabella Martin, worked with local residents to explore the area and create a new map together in a project called You Are Here. The project is inspired by Kettle’s Yard, celebrating all the individual and unique things which make a place special.

Isabella worked with local groups to share stories and knowledge and develop creative skills to turn these stories into artworks. The artworks formed part of the alternative neighbourhood map. It shows and celebrates what is unique about North Cambridge.

At the end of November 2016 the map was revealed at a temporary print studio and exhibition in Arbury called Make Your Map where visitors joined her to make their own print of the map using a silk screen. The exhibition featured works from Kettle’s Yard’s collection including pieces by Ben Nicholson and Alfred Wallis, reproductions of historic maps which inspired Martin from the Cambridgeshire Collection and the Scott Polar Research Institute, and artworks created by participants at workshops and projects throughout the residency. For more information and to see photos from Make Your Map click here.

Variations on a Weekend Theme – Emma Smith Artist in Residence 2015

Emma Smith, our first Open House Artist in Residence, collaborated with local communities to develop a new performative artwork exploring people’s restorative pastimes entitled Variations on a Weekend Theme. From April to December 2015, Emma worked across Arbury, King’s Hedges, East Chesterton and Orchard Park, collecting and sharing activities and past times local residents undertake to feel relaxed and restored.

Emma collected advice and activities from residents across North Cambridge and invited people to share their activities with others. She was inspired by an unpublished manuscript written by Jim Ede, entitled Variations on a Weekend Theme. The manuscript details how Jim and his wife Helen welcomed servicemen from Gibraltar for weekends at their home in Tangiers where they could stay, try something new and recuperate.

In November 2015, Emma transformed the disused Maskell’s Bakery on Akeman Street, and for three days the shop became an ‘art apothecary’ where visitors received remedies for a variety of malaises and situations. While reusing the original bread shelves and glass counter, the shop was completely redecorated and a few selected artworks and glass objects from the Kettle’s Yard collection were on display. Visitors were invited to book a consultation with an Assistant Apothecarist in the shop. To see photos from Variations on a Weekend Theme click here.

For more information about Open House or to join our Open House mailing list email
mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk

The Open House three-year creative programme from 2015 – 2017 was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Cambridge City Council.

Image: Josh Murfitt