7 January 2021
We’re sharing a selection of our most read stories from 2020. If you didn’t spot them last year, we hope you can enjoy them now. Thanks for reading!
1. Reflections from Home: Antony Gormley, Norfolk, England
Our most read blog post from last year was from our series ‘Reflections from Home’, in which we asked artists to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. Written during the first lockdown, Antony Gormley shared images from his studio and his own thoughts on the situation.
“I withdraw to the drawing studio in all seasons, it has a wood burning stove for winter. It has shelves and drawers for my Chinese calligraphy brushes, books and music. I spend as much time in here as I do outside and in the larger studio downstairs, where other matrices grow and sculptures start.” – Antony Gormley
Read ‘Reflections from Home: Antony Gormley, Norfolk, England’ here
2. Tangier Days: Finding Whitestone
Next we are re-sharing ‘Tangier Days’, an online series that looked at the period when Jim and Helen Ede, creators of Kettle’s Yard, lived in Tangier, Morocco from 1936-52. The series is made up of 6 parts. In Part 5: Finding Whitestone, we learn more about the moment we rediscovered the Ede’s home in Tangier.
3. Reflections from Home: Rana Begum
We have another ‘Reflections from Home’ in our top 10 most read stories. Artist Rana Begum shared her experience of being in lockdown in Hackney, London.
“In contrast, my watercolours are made while home schooling my two children. There are many interruptions! Each time I am interrupted I put the brush down and then need to reload it with paint to start again, creating the darker squares.” – Rana Begum
Read ‘Reflections from Home: Rana Begum, Hackney, London’ here
4. Furniture Focus: The Kubbestol
Throughout the year, Visitor Assistant Andrew Smith shared some of his vast knowledge about the furniture at Kettle’s Yard. In this story, we learnt more about the Kubbestol chair, which sits opposite the Dancer Room in the House.
5. Enni-Kukka Tuomala announced as Open House artist in residence for 2020
In April 2020 we announced our Open House artist in residence for 2020. Finnish Empathy artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala has spent the last year working with communities in North Cambridge on the Campaign for Empathy. Find out more about the Campaign for Empathy and see how you can get involved here.
Read more about Enni-Kukka Tuomala in our blog post
6. Bringing Fresh Flowers into Kettle’s Yard for the Re-opening
Another popular story from last year was about the flowers at Kettle’s Yard. Flowers are an important part of the House, and we were delighted to be able to re-introduce them ahead of our re-opening in August 2020. Visitor Assistant and Flower Expert Sabrina Rippon told us more about the how the flowers are chosen for each room in this blog post.
7. Three Questions to Isaam Kourbaj
During the first lockdown, we asked artists to respond to Three Questions about the current situation. Our most popular response was from artist Isaam Kourbaj, who filmed his personal response from his studio in Cambridge.
Read the story and watch the response here
8. Meeting Ground
In April 2020, our Open House artists in residence for 2019, Wright & Vandame, were scheduled to host a display and series of events in the Ede Room at Kettle’s Yard, which celebrated and reflected upon the outcome of their year-long residency. Unfortunately this couldn’t happen due to COVID-19. Instead, they shared their outcome through a series of blog posts.
Read the full series of blogs here
9. 3/3 Pride Month: Exploring the Kettle’s Yard Collection
During Pride Month 2020 our Visitor Services Manager, Lilja Addeman, shared with us some of her reflections on Kettle’s Yard. The third blog in the series made it into our top 10. In this blog Lilja looked at a piece of ephemera from Christopher Wood and discussed the value of queer friendships.
Find out more and read the story here
10. Three Questions to Marcus Coates
Our final most popular story of 2020 was another response in our ‘Three Questions’ series. Marcus Coates was the first artist to respond to the questions posed by Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey, Acting Head of Programme. On this blog you will also find an introduction to the series.
Watch Marcus Coates’ response here
If you enjoyed these, you can explore more stories about the collection, music, learning and community projects and more in our regularly updated blog.