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Annual Report of the Kettle's Yard Committee for the year 1998-99

The KETTLE'S YARD COMMITTEE beg leave to report to the Council as follows:

1. Introduction

Education, in its broadest sense, has been the function of Kettle's Yard since its foundation in 1957 and its adoption by the University in 1966. For many years Kettle's Yard has been recognized nationally as a leader in its field. This year's Report gives particular attention to our work in education, ranging from accredited adult education courses to teenage and young children's clubs and a wide range of work with people with various disabilities. It also highlights two Government awards which will allow Kettle's Yard to develop model projects out of our work with blind and partially-sighted adults, and, with the Fitzwilliam Museum in the use of art galleries in the teaching of literacy.

2. Committee

The Committee remained under the Chairmanship of Professor David King, Master of Downing College, in 1998-99. Mrs Kim Horan, from Anglia Polytechnic University, and Ms Hester Westley, CHU, were the student members for the academical year. The Committee are grateful to Mr Christopher Stevenson, who served as the Finance Committee's nominee for five years, and were pleased to welcome Colonel Michael Payne to the Committee in March in his place.

3. Staff

Mr Michael Harrison continued as Director during 1998-99, assisted by Mr Simon Wallis, the Exhibitions Organizer, and Ms Sophie Weeks, the Education Officer. Dr Geeta Subramonian joined the staff as Public Relations Officer in November 1998. Mr Jonathan Blackwood was appointed to the new post of House Curator with effect from July 1999. The Committee also gratefully acknowledge the loyal support of Mrs Maree Allitt, the Gallery Administrator, Mr Paul Allitt, the Technician, other assistant staff, and the House invigilators.

4. Collection

The following were loaned from the permanent collection during the year:

to the Design Museum, London (20 January - 6 June 1999), for their exhibition Modern Britain 1929-30, the following works by Ben Nicholson: Abstract design, 1934, linocut (BN40); Massine Ballet study, 1934, oil on card (BN7); Exhibition Sign, c.1933 (BN18); Textile: letters and numbers, c.1933, linocut on cloth, framed fragment (BN38); Textile: squares and stripes, 1933, linocut on cloth, framed fragment (BN37); Textile: squares and circles, 1933 linocut on cloth, framed fragment (BN41); and Abstract box, 1933, paint and pencil on cardboard box (BN19).

to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (1 September - 21 November 1999), for their exhibition Two painters: Works by Alfred Wallis and James Dixon, the following works by Alfred Wallis: Three-master on a stormy sea (AW19); Trees and cottages (AW23); Boats before a great bridge (AW25); The wreck of the Alba (AW28); Cottages in a wood, St Ives (man with dog) (AW35); Gateway (AW43); Allegory with three figures and two dogs (AW44); Street of houses and trees (AW59); Orange ship with five fish (AW93); Small boat in a rough sea (AW96); Two ships and a steamer sailing past a port (AW98); Landscape with two large trees and houses (AW99); and by James Dixon: Schooners passing Tory Island, 1967 (JD3); The sinking of the Titanic, 1967 (JD4); Digging potatoes on Dixon's Farm, 1967 (JD5); Fishing on the pier, 1967 (JD7); The first time the helicopter came in, 1967 (JD8).

to Salisbury Cathedral (22 May - 22 August 1999), for the exhibition The Shape of the Century 1900-1999: 20th Century British Sculpture: Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Maria Carmi as the Madonna, 1912, bronze cast (HGB22c).

5. Conservation

The following works on paper were conserved during the year:

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Portrait Study in profile, watercolour and charcoal (HGB98)

Italo Valenti, Troll, watercolour and gouache on paper mounted on hardboard

Alfred Wallis, Grey Steamboat, sailing ship, 3 fish (with teeth), graphite pencil and oil on card (AW109)

Work also continued on the collection of Sironi drawings.

The Committee acknowledge with thanks the help of the South Eastern Museums Service through its grant-aid towards conservation.

6. Exhibitions

The following exhibitions took place during the year:

George Fullard: Playing with Paradox 1923-72 (8 August - 20 September 1998). Brought in from the Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield and adapted, this exhibition brought to light the work of an artist who had been eclipsed for the past twenty-five years.

Stephen Chambers: Paintings (26 September - 1 November 1998). This exhibition introduced audiences to the 1998-99 Kettle's Yard/Downing College Artist Fellow.

Richard Wentworth's 'Thinking Aloud' (7 November 1998 - 3 January 1999). The rapport of this National Touring Exhibition, which combined works of art with other objects, with the house collection was noted by many visitors. The evening conversation between Richard Wentworth and Marina Warner was a sell-out.

Physical Evidence (9 January - 28 February 1999). This exhibition, which was a follow-up to the Bodyworks exhibition shown in 1996-97, comprised paintings, sculptures, and photographic and video work by thirteen young artists. A symposium, The Body in Question, held at New Hall, accompanied the exhibition. It toured to the Djanogly Gallery at the University of Nottingham.

Bob Law (6 March - 26 April 1999). This exhibition of minimalist paintings and drawings was taken from the Newlyn Art Gallery and expanded into a retrospective. A special gallery talk was arranged as part of National Science Week.

Kenneth Martin and David Griffiths (1 May - 20 June 1999). The main exhibition of Kenneth Martin's Chance and Order series, screw mobiles, and re-lated works was accompanied by an exhibition of photographic works, Extracts, by David Griffiths, based upon the landscape created from the spoil of the Channel Tunnel.

Kettle's Yard Open (26 June - 1 August 1999). This was the fifth in the annual series, and the last to the current format. The work of sixteen artists was selected by Stephen Chambers, the Artist Fellow, and the sculptor, Phyllida Barlow.

7. Picture Loan Scheme

100 students borrowed 172 works on a term-by-term basis.

8. Artist Fellowship

The 1998-99 Artist Fellow was Stephen Chambers, a painter. The Committee are grateful to Downing College for hosting the Fellowship and to Eastern Arts Board for their support. The Fellowship was remarkably successful, with the host College mounting an exhibition of the artist's work, from which it bought two major paintings, commissioning a portrait of the Master, and engaging the artist in advising on interior decor.

9. Education

During 1998-99 nearly 9,000 children and adults participated in education projects, events, activities, and courses exploring the permanent collection and the exhibitions programme. 3,855 came to make use of the resources as part of their formal education: 1,982 children and 1,873 adults. 96 teachers came to use works of art and 35 attended an annual teachers' forum, introduced to provide information and strengthen relationships with schools. There were 545 adult attendances at lunch-time and evening talks, and nearly 1,000 by adults and young people on courses. Special projects involved over 270 people and provided new opportunities to research access to works of art for visually-impaired and deaf people.

Activities reached a range of audiences including: families and toddlers at the Children's Festival and Strawberry Fair (both in June); young people through Young Kettle's Yard meetings, events, and work experience; those with disabilities and special needs through 'A Touching Experience' (May) and 'Signing Allowed' (November); and school pupils aged 4-18 years through 85 tailored workshops. We have continued to broaden both the formal and community education programmes to stimulate an interest in art through other disciplines, for example: through science, during SET 99 (March), with talks on time and space, and schools' projects on the theme of light; through language, with schools' literacy workshops and a film-making project; through music, with workshops for school pupils and students led by the Composers Ensemble (November and March); and through architecture, with talks and training for teachers during Architecture Week 98.

To celebrate Museums Week (May) Irchester Junior School brought their recreation of Kettle's Yard to the education room, and spent a weekend guiding visitors around both their own and the real Kettle's Yard. Visitors were truly impressed by their knowledge of the collection. The pupils' work was inspired by Italo Valenti, Ben Nicholson, and Alfred Wallis, and was carefully intermingled with bookcases, natural objects, fishing floats, and plants.

Pupils from Romsey Junior School responded to Stephen Chambers's paintings in words, spending their 'literacy hour' in the gallery and basing their Text Level English work upon the visit. In October Kettle's Yard collaborated with Philip Cashian from the Composers Ensemble to provide outreach music workshops at Romsey in response to paintings by Stephen Chambers. Pupils gave a midday concert in front of the paintings in the gallery.

In March Phillip Cashian, with clarinettist Duncan Prescott, worked with Romsey and with music students from Homerton College. Both groups created their own compositions which were performed at the University Concert Hall on 4 March, prior to the Composers Ensemble concert, 'Igor's Boogie'.

As Eastern Representative of Engage East (The National Association for Gallery Education), the Education Officer organized a conference in collaboration with Homerton College and the National Association for Education in Art and Design. 'A Time for Change: New Directions in Art Education' (June) brought teachers and education officers together to explore ideas of good practice.

Following the publication of a guide to Kettle's Yard for visually-impaired people in May, Kettle's Yard helped to encourage local museums to take part in 'A Touching Experience', a two-week national festival of touch reading. At Kettle's Yard, letter carver, Lida Kindersley, brought stones to the gallery for visually-impaired people to feel, and gave demonstrations of carving. Paula Selman led a training session for the House invigilators in visual impairment awareness. They have volunteered to act as guides for blind and partially-sighted visitors on a more regular basis. With funding from the Eastern Arts Board, Kettle's Yard also provided training and support for staff and volunteers from several collections, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Botanic Garden, and the Folk and Technology Museums. An award from Cambridge City Council's Priority Development Programme funded publicity giving the Cambridgeshire contributions to the festival a sense of regional identity.

Our work in the areas of schools' literacy programmes and access for visually-impaired people has been recognized by the DfEE and DCMS, and Kettle's Yard has been successful in achieving funding for two future projects which build on current practice. The Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettle's Yard were awarded £24,000 through the DfEE's Museum and Gallery Education Programme for a joint schools' literacy project. 'I See What You Mean' will take two years to complete and aims to produce a resource for teaching literacy in schools and galleries using art. It will eventually be available through the National Grid for Learning. Kettle's Yard's proposal to the New Audiences Programme has resulted in a £20,000 grant to support the development of access to collections in Cambridgeshire for visually-impaired people. The initiative will build on the success of participation in 'A Touching Experience'.

Throughout November a mixture of deaf and hearing children from Cottenham Hearing Impairment Unit and their friends worked in the gallery with deaf artist, Niall McCormack, and Sheila Ceccarelli on a project called 'Signing Allowed', based on the theme of signs and communication. A special evening view of 'Thinking Aloud', held in collaboration with the Community Arts Team, was attended by adults from the Cambridge Deaf Club, providing the opportunity to research their needs. Richard Wentworth and Marina Warner in conversation, attended by over 150 people, was relayed through a system of speakers and interpreted into BSL.

Young Kettle's Yard organized two projects. 'Feeding the Imagination' was a sculptural challenge to conjure a response to the permanent collection out of food, which gained publicity (Cambridge Evening News and Anglia TV) and sponsorship from Del Monte Foods Ltd, Saxon Foods, Sticky Fingers UK, Crest, Tesco, and Heffers, among others. They also took on the task of organizing Kettle's Yard's contribution to Strawberry Fair this year, picking a painting from the collection (James Dixon, Tory Island, 1966) as a theme for family activities.

The Body in Question, a collaborative symposium at New Hall, was attended by over eighty people. There was also a three-part outreach sculpture course for adults and teenagers, led by Cambridge Sculpture Workshops, based around three different sculpture exhibitions.

Kettle's Yard would like to thank Molly Adams (Saturday Drawing) and Nick Bullions (Wednesday Club and Young Kettle's Yard), who have left to pursue other activities, and volunteer Jane Campling for all her hard work.

10. Music

There were fifteen concerts in the subscription series during the year, with an additional memorial concert for Diana Gordon, the one-time organizer of the series. One concert was held at Kettle's Yard and at the University Music School Concert Hall, West Road.

Michaelmas Term

15 October Janácek Quartet: Milos Vacek and Viseslav Zavadilik, violins; Ladislav Kyselak, viola; Bretislav Vybiral, cello
22 October Anna Markland, piano
29 October Schubert Ensemble of London: William Howard, piano; Simon Blendis, violin; Douglas Paterson, viola; Jane Salmon, cello; Peter Buckoke, double bass
12 November The Max Forbes Concert: Rosie Biss, cello; Huw Watkins, piano
19 November Belcea Quartet: Corina Belcea and Laura Samuel, violins; Krzystof Chor-elski, viola; Alasdair Tait, cello

Lent Term

4 February Gould Piano Trio: Lucy Gould, violin; Martin Storey, cello; Benjamin Frith, piano
11 February Susan Tomes, piano
18 February The Jim and Helen Ede Concert: Richard Lester, cello
25 February Hugh Wolf Quartet: Jehi Bahk and Régis Bringholf, violins; Wladimir Kossjanenko, viola; Florian Berner, cello
11 March The Diana Gordon Memorial Con-cert: given by James Gibb, Stephen Plaistow, Richard Harwood, Joyce Rathbone, Georgia Lewis, Corinna Ferguson, Barry Friend, Dylan Pugh.
29 April Mary Nelson, soprano, Andrew Smith, piano

Easter Term

6 May Belcea Quartet: Corina Belcea and Laura Samuel, violins; Krzystof Chorelski, viola; Alasdair Tait, cello
13 May Katona Twins: Peter and Zoltan Katona, guitars
20 May Hugh Wood Concert, The Joachim Piano Trio: John Lenehan, piano; Rebecca Hirsch, violin; Caroline Dearnley, cello; with Jonathan Williams, horn. This concert was dedicated to Hugh Wood, who retired as a UTO in the Faculty of Music and a Chairman of Kettle's Yard Music Committee. Music included Hugh Wood's Piano Trio Op. 24 (1984) and Horn Trio Op. 29 (1989).
17 June The Kettle's Yard Ensemble, The Paxos Quartet: Marcus Barcham-Stevens, and Claire Dolby, violins; William Coleman, viola; Jonathan Cohen, cello; with Andrew Kidd, clarinet

The rates of subscription in 1998-99 were as follows:

subscribers £55.00 a year
students £17.00 a year
guests £5.50 each concert

The Music Sub-Committee thank all those who helped to make concerts possible, in particular Sue Lubbock for arranging the programme and Ros Buffery for entertaining the musicians.

The fifth series of Friday lunch-time, student concerts was organized by Jonathan Cohen, CL. Outside these series collaboration continued with Cambridge Modern Jazz Club, JazzEast, Cambridge Summer Recitals, and the Composers Ensemble. The Committee looks forward to widening the music activities further still in 1999-2000 with the appointment of the first new Music Fellow, John Woolrich, who will be in residence at Clare Hall.

Finally, the Committee are sad to report the death of Miss Diana Gordon. Diana was Music Secretary for ten years from September 1974, taking over the running of regular chamber music at Kettle's Yard from Jim Ede. Her influence on music at Kettle's Yard is still felt.

11. Attendance

31,801 visits to eight exhibitions over 280 days

20,569 visits to the house over 308 days

8,833 participants in educational activities, talks, and lectures

4,700 attendances at concerts

1,350 attendances through corporate and other bookings.

The figure of 31,801 visits to exhibitions compares with last year's figure of 34,424, which included unusually high attendance for the Carving Mountains exhibition. 20,569 house visits compares with 21,274 last year. The overall attendance of 67,253 compares with 71,121 in 1997-98 and 63,957 in 1996-97.

12. Finance

Summary accounts for 1998-99 for each of the main areas of activity are shown in the table below.

Following a review of funding arrangements by the Eastern Arts Board, Kettle's Yard was designated a 'recurrently funded' organization. Depending on longer-term funding by the Arts Council, it is hoped that this will guarantee funding on a three-year cycle, rather than on a year by year basis, which will aid planning.

In addition, Kettle's Yard Music had an income of £27,454 for the year and an expenditure of £23,764 which, together with the £1,698 carried forward from 1997-98, left a surplus of £5,388 to be carried forward to 1999-2000.

The difficulties with the tenants of the Post Office appeared to be moving towards resolution as the year closes.

  Income Expenditure Surplus
(Deficit)
 
Recurrent Account £177,456 £181,372 (£3,916)
Education Account £12,207 £17,410 (£5,203)
House Account £16,974 £6,770 £10,204
Trading Account £57,807 £23,330 £34,477
Exhibition Account £51,057 £84,343 (£33,286)
 
Surplus/(deficit) for the year £2,276
Carried forward from 1997-98 £57,644
Accumulated surplus/(deficit) £59,920

13. Conclusion

In their last Annual Report, the Committee reported that funding was being sought for a new officer post of House Curator with specific responsibility for the house collection. The Committee are now pleased to be able to report that funding has been secured for such a post from the Newton Trust, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, and the South Eastern Museums Service. Mr Jonathan Blackwood was appointed to the post, for two years in the first instance, from 12 July 1999. Jonathan will also be undertaking a feasibility study for the establishment of a study centre at Kettle's Yard.

The Committee would like to extend their thanks to Hugh Wood, for his valuable service as Chairman of the Music Sub-Committee over a period of ten years.

Kettle's Yard is again grateful to the Eastern Arts Board, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridge City Council, and Cambridgeshire County Council for revenue funding, and the Henry Moore Foundation and the South Eastern Museums Service for project funding. The Committee would also like to acknowledge the untiring support given by the Friends. The Committee hope that the Friends will benefit from the new Kettle's Yard bi-annual newsletter launched this year. Another innovation in 1998-99 was the creation of a website for Kettle's Yard which can be viewed at http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/.

October 1999    D. A. King, Chairman


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Cambridge University Reporter Special, 17 January 2000
Copyright © 2000 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.