Campaign for Empathy for North Cambridge

Empathy artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala was our Open House Artist in Residence for North Cambridge, 2020/21.

Enni worked with local community groups and individuals developing the Campaign for Empathy for North Cambridge – the world’s first community-centred campaign to promote empathy as a way to foster a sense of community and connection in a time of physical distancing and social isolation.

By creating activities, conversations and moments of connection that culminate in empathy artworks, Enni brought people together to explore the following questions:

What does the empathy mean to us individually and as a community? What’s the role it should play in our shared environment?

Where and when does empathy already live in the local community, and where is it needed? 

How can we better understand each other’s experiences and perspectives?

Can we feel connected without any physical contact? 

Could “social distancing” actually bring us closer? 

Who do we want to be when the doors open again?

Find out what Enni-Kukka Tuomala got up to during the first six months of the Campaign For Empathy.

There are lots of ways you can still enjoy the legacy of the Campaign for Empathy for North Cambridge.

• Download the Campaign for Empathy Activity Kit I. The first kit is aimed at families and primary school age children. The second Campaign for Empathy Activity Kit II is aimed at adults and also available for you to download.
• Try our Campaign for Empathy Menu for Conversation to check in on friends, family and neighbours from a safe distance, or use it as a tool for self-reflection. You can even share your responses with us in a letter.
• Listen to the Campaign for Empathy: A Message – audio artwork. Hear messages of hope during the Covid-19 pandemic from pupils and teachers of the Grove Primary School in Kings Hedges. The messages were broadcast from a special billboard bicycle on Saturday 13th June 2020, to mark the day which would have been the date of the annual Arbury Carnival. The bike travelled around the usual Carnival procession route and beyond to spread the messages of encouragement all around North Cambridge.
• Follow #campaignforempathy hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for more ideas and to join the conversation.

Empathy Objects

Empathy Objects was a display of a series of artworks which have been created by Open House artist in residence 2020/21, Enni-Kukka Tuomala, working with local community groups and residents of North Cambridge. The Empathy Objects were displayed around North Cambridge and the Kettle’s Yard House in July 2021.

“The role of art is to give food for thought, to act as a stimulant, to entice the onlooker to inspect things, people, emotions, from a new point of view.” 

H.S. “Jim” Ede, Kettle’s Yard creator

This collaboration has resulted in a series of artworks, Empathy Objects. Inspired by art and people’s experiences, the Empathy Objects aim to connect the Kettle’s Yard House collections with the local communities in North Cambridge through new collaborative works.

The Empathy Diary documents moments of empathy for oneself and for others, as well as the lack of it, in the context of isolation and loneliness. The Empathy Diary can be found in Helen Ede’s bedroom at Kettle’s Yard, or you can view the pages of the Empathy Diary in this film.

You are able to still experience Empathy Objects by watching this online tour.