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Annual Report of the Kettle's Yard Committee for the year 1999-2000

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

1. Introduction

The turn of the millennium brought with it several turning points for Kettle's Yard. Our commitment to developing new audiences was demonstrated in N01SE, a major, multi-site exhibition, where the arts and sciences came together with no attempt to distinguish one from the other. The It's Your Turn exhibition attracted literally hundreds of participants and 36 per cent of its audience were first-time visitors to Kettle's Yard.

Nationally-funded education projects, I Know What You Mean and In To Touch, broke new ground in services for visually-impaired people and the involvement of art galleries in the teaching of literacy.

Music was a major feature of the year with our first New Music Fellow, the distinguished composer, John Woolrich, coming into residence. Concerts and workshops brought new music to new audiences and young players, children, and students, and explored the cross-over between contemporary music and the visual arts.

And, not least, a successful year of fund-raising and trading left us by no means complacent, because our secure base remains uncomfortably narrow, but in a position to plan more confidently for the future.

2. Committee

The Committee remained under the Chairmanship of Professor David King, Master of Downing College. Ms Savannah Roberts, EM, and Mrs Kim Horan, from Anglia Polytechnic University, were the student members for the academical year. Sir Alan Bowness retired from the Committee at the end of 1999. Sir Alan had been involved with Kettle's Yard since its inception and the Committee would like formally to record their warmest thanks to him for his long service.

Mr Timothy Llewellyn, Director of the Henry Moore Foundation, and Dr Mike Sheppard, Schlumberger Fellow and Managing Director of Schlumberger Cambridge Research, joined as new members in the Lent Term.

3. Staff

Mr Michael Harrison continued as Director, assisted by Ms Sophie Weeks, Education Officer, and Mr Jonathan Blackwood. Dr Geeta Subramonian resigned as Public Relations Officer, and was replaced by Dr Lucy Sheerman in September 1999. Mr Simon Wallis resigned from his post as Exhibitions Organizer to take up appointment at the Tate Gallery Liverpool, and was replaced by Dr Simon Groom in November 1999. Mrs Maree Allitt and Mr Paul Allitt remained in post. Mrs Caroline Matthews joined as Administrative Secretary.

4. Collection

The following works were lent from the permanent collection:

to the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, for their exhibition, Art World in Dialogue (5 November 1999 - 5 March 2000), the following works by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska: Femme Assise, bronze (HGB18a); Redstone Dancer, bronze, (HGB24); and Doorknocker, bronze, (HGB6).

to the Courtauld Institute of Art for their exhibition, Art Made Modern: Roger Fry's Vision of Art, from the Mayans to Matisse (15 October 1999 - 23 January 2000), the following works by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska: Wrestlers, herculite cast (HGB3a); Wrestlers, linocut (HGB28); Two Men Wrestling, pen and ink (HGB37); and Two Wrestlers, pencil (HGB118).

to the exhibition, The Shape of the Century, 1900 - 1999: 20th Century British Sculpture, at Salisbury Cathedral (22 May - 22 August 1999), and Canary Wharf, London (22 September - 24 October 1999): Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Maria Carmi as the Madonna, bronze (HGB22d).

to The New Art Gallery, Walsall for their exhibition, Blue: borrowed and new (14 February - 1 May 2000): Joan Mirò, Tic Tic, oil on canvas (JM1).

The Committee also agreed to extend the loan of paintings by Alfred Wallis and James Dixon (see the Annual Report for 1998-99: Reporter, 1999-2000, Special No. 11) to the second showing of the exhibition, Wallis and Dixon: two painters, at the Tate St Ives (21 May - 29 October 2000), with the works being returned between showings.

The following work was accessioned to the collection from the estate of the late Howard Ferguson:

Elisabeth Vellacott, Corner of a Field, pencil on paper, 355 × 466 mm (EV9).

5. Conservation

The following works on paper were conserved during the year:

David Jones, Sunday within the Octave of Xmas (DJ28); and the following drawings by Mario Sironi: 9, 11, 16, 17, 19, 22, 26, 29, 30, 42, 44, 51, 61, 65a, 65b, 70, 70a, 100 (MS7).

Conservation work was also carried out on several applied art objects.

The Committee is grateful to the South Eastern Museums Service for its continued support of the conservation programme.

6. Exhibitions

The following exhibitions took place during the year:

Prunella Clough (7 August - 26 September 1999). This exhibition, celebrating the artist's 80th birthday, brought together works from all periods of her career. It attracted a large public, excellent press coverage, and a high number of sales. A smaller version of the exhibition toured to the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield (4 December 1999 - 14 February 2000). Prunella Clough was awarded the Jerwood Prize for Painting shortly before her death in December 1999. The exhibition was supported by the Elephant Trust.

Juan Cruz and Stephen Chambers (2 October - 7 November 1999). This exhibition marked the beginning of Juan Cruz's residency as Kettle's Yard/Girton College Artist Fellow. Shortly before its opening, Juan Cruz was awarded a Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists. The artist used sound, projections, light, and texts to evoke a range of experiences of place, time, and memory. The exhibition was coupled with a small display of paintings by Stephen Chambers, made in Cambridge during his time as Kettle's Yard/Downing College Artist Fellow in 1998-99.

'45-99: a personal view of British painting and sculpture by Bryan Robertson (13 November 1999 - 9 January 2000). As a glance over the shoulder as we left the twentieth century, the critic and curator, Bryan Robertson, was invited to select an exhibition reflecting his engagement with British art. It also marked the 50th anniversary of the start of his career at the Heffer Gallery in Cambridge. His selection included work by Edward Burra, Ceri Richards, Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley, Anthony Caro, Phillip King, Gary Hume, Fiona Rae, and others. The exhibition was supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and the Elephant Trust.

N01SE (22 January - 26 March 2000). This ambitious project was devised by the artist, Adam Lowe, and Dr Simon Schaffer, of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and organized by Kettle's Yard. Connected exhibitions at Kettle's Yard, the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Wellcome Trust's Two10 Gallery in London explored issues of information, transformation, and communication in the digital age. The project was supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Henry Moore Foundation, and a Cambridge City Council Millennium Award, and was organized in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust. The Fitzwilliam Museum also mounted an exhibition of digital prints to coincide with N01SE.

Diet Sayler (1 - 30 April 2000). This was the only showing in the UK of a retrospective of one of Europe's most prominent constructive artists, following showings in Germany, Prague, and Bucharest. To coincide with the exhibition, Sayler made site-specific installations in the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral and St Peter's Church. The opening at Ely was marked by a cello recital of new music, given by Anton Lucoszeviese, using the remarkable acoustic of the Lady Chapel.

Again with help from the Henry Moore Foundation, the site-specific theme was developed in three specially commissioned works by Daniel Edwards, installed in the House, exploring its qualities of light, shadow and reflection.

ABCDavid Kindersley: a life of letters (6 May - 25 June 2000). David Kindersley (1915-95) was the outstanding letterer of his generation; his stone cutting and street signage are a familiar part of the Cambridge cityscape. The exhibition, which was supported by the Arts Council of England, included some of his finest and most inventive inscriptions in stone and paper, and an interactive computer programme devised and sponsored by Imagination. The exhibition was also shown at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (14 July - 28 August 2000) and will travel further in the coming year.

It's Your Turn (1-30 July 2000). The open show in 2000 took a different form, showcasing visual and written work by people of all ages, from all walks of life, living in the Cambridge area, conveying their experience of life at the turn of the millennium. For the month of July the gallery doubled as a studio so that visitors could add their own contributions. The exhibition was supported by a Cambridge City Council Millennium Award and Heffers, and was organized with assistance from the Junction and in association with the Cambridge Evening News and Camfest.

7. Picture Loan Scheme

81 students borrowed 151 works on a term-by-term basis.

8. Art and New Music Fellowships

The 1999-2000 Artist Fellow was Juan Cruz. The Committee are grateful to Girton College for hosting the Fellowship and to the Eastern Arts Board for their support.

The Committee recorded in their last Annual Report the appointment of John Woolrich as the first New Music Fellow in 1999-2000, in residence at Clare Hall. Over the year, John Woolrich has contributed substantially to the programming of new music at Kettle's Yard and the introduction of music into the education programme. Highlights of the year included weekends of workshops and concert performances focusing on the music of Harrison Birtwistle, with the composer present, and Woolrich's own music. Participants included David le Page, Peter Wiegold, Andrew Parrott, principal conductor of the London Mozart Players, and the Composers Ensemble.

The New Music Fellowship and programme were supported in their first year by Clare Hall, the Radcliffe Trust, the Britten-Pears Foundation, the Holst Foundation, the Wyseliot Charitable Trust, and the Eastern Arts Board.

John Woolrich has been invited by Kettle's Yard and Clare Hall to stay for a second year and funds are currently being sought to support this programme.

9. Education

During 1999-2000 well over 7,000 people participated in the Education Programme at Kettle's Yard. Through a variety of educational activities Kettle's Yard has supported the University's commitment to life-long learning, providing access to its resources for audiences with special needs, including visually-impaired people, for young people outside formal education, and for schools, through a nationally-funded education project, and for other adult participants. Contributions to large-scale projects, such as Art in The Park, in August 1999, and National Science Week 2000 also strengthened relationships with the local community.

Regular activities such as Wednesday Club, holiday workshops, Saturday Drawing, and Young Kettle's Yard continued, attracting nearly 1,700 attendances over the year and involving a number of practising artists. Art to Share, for blind and partially-sighted people, has now dissolved as a group, to become part of the wider In To Touch programme described below. Young Kettle's Yard (YKY) helped to solicit entries from 5-20 year olds for the It's Your Turn exhibition and one member spent her work placement at Kettle's Yard, securing the YKY prizes awarded in July. The now-established Art History courses, taught by Elizabeth McKellar, were oversubscribed once again.

Jon Blackwood, the Curator of collections, supported taught courses through additional talks and events. His appointment has also opened up possibilities of research, stronger connections with University Departments, such as the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art, and sharing expertise with other universities and art institutions.

It has been a successful year in terms of funding, with over £55,000 having been raised for education projects, events, and activities, including £24,000 from the Department for Education and Employment and £20,000 from the Arts Council of England. Among other things, the extra funding allowed the creation of a temporary education assistant post for half of the year, enabling the Education Officer to devote some time to larger projects. Kate Travers was able to continue work on an Architecture Pack, while helping to encourage 51 schools and nearly 900 pupils to visit the ex-hibition, N01SE, and guiding groups around its various venues.

New activities this year included a New Music education programme and a series of special evening events for young working people.

New Music has attracted attention, both through the concerts organized by John Woolrich, and the education activities and performances that accompanied them. Talks by eminent composers, including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and workshops, led by Andrew Parrott and Peter Wiegold, for students and school pupils contributed to a spectacular debut. Collaborations have secured new partnerships, in particular with Anglia Polytechnic University and lecturer, Mick Gowar.

South Cambridgeshire District Council encouraged Kettle's Yard to target potential new audiences from the Cambridge Science Parks and local 'hi-tech' industries. This was achieved through the creation of a website for N01SE, an interdisciplinary exhibition exploring the digital world, and a new kind of collaborative event called the Last Chance series. This provided busy people, at work during the day, with evening viewings of exhibitions, laced with talks, poetry readings, and other attractions. The Education Officer and the Public Relations Officer worked in partnership and with other organizations, including the Digital Artists' Network and Science Park contacts, to reach new audiences, attracting 70 people to the first event.

Also supported by South Cambridgeshire District Council was the special needs project, Mixed Messages, inspired by the exhibition, ABCDavid Kindersley. Kettle's Yard and students from Cambridge Regional College collaborated with the Arts Picture House and the University of Cambridge Moving Image Studio to make three short films exploring lettering.

In addition to exhibiting artists and curators contributing to education activities in the gallery, Kettle's Yard developed other, innovative approaches to interpretation and access. Visitors used an interactive computer programme to explore the idea of 'optical' letter spacing during ABCDavid Kindersley. For It's Your Turn, organized by Alex Hodby, an art-making area was incorporated as part of the exhibition, while Kimberley Foster made some extraordinary artworks for the exhibition with Girton Women's Institute, representatives of the local Vietnamese community, employees from the Botanic Gardens, and patients at Addenbrooke's Hospital. N01SE was the focus for a number of gallery education activities. To raise awareness in the schools sector, the curators, Adam Lowe and Simon Schaffer, visited local secondary schools, including King Edward VII School, King's Lynn, Impington Village College, and Long Road and Hills Road Sixth Form Colleges. King Edward VII School and Kettle's Yard won a National Gallery education award from the Vivien Duffield Foundation for their artwork and contributions to Making N01SE, a special one-day symposium for National Science Week, when scientists, artists, and school pupils made presentations to over 200 children and adults. The curators also gave talks throughout the exhibition, inviting guests like Luc Steels to explain his on-line language experiment, Talking Heads, and Professor Malcolm Longair to explain how the universe was made from noise. Cambridgeshire school pupils took part in Steels's experiment through the schools' intranet.

For many years the Education Officers of Kettle's Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum have worked together to develop workshops and resources, combining the use of visual and verbal skills. Projects like Image and Text, Hidden People, and Alone in the Crowd in the early 1990s resulted in literacy teaching resources, exhibitions, and anthologies, designed to support the English curriculum. This year funding from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) for I See What You Mean provided the opportunity to build on practice and experience to form a useful resource that could be shared with other schools, museums, and galleries through the World Wide Web. Teachers from Queen Edith Primary School, Fordham Primary School, Parkside School, and Lady Adrian Special School have contributed to the project, bringing over 150 pupils to try out new approaches. The funding also allowed the Education Officers to observe Literacy Hour and language teaching first hand, and to work with artists and a web designer to create a computer-based resource. Marketing and dissemination activities will begin in 2001, while the resource is being piloted.

In To Touch, a special events programme for visually-impaired people, was funded through the Arts Council of England's New Audiences Scheme. The Education Officer has helped to establish what will be an annual programme of events in Cambridgeshire, by raising funds for a project co-ordinator and for participating organizations. Paula Selman Armstrong, who has led Art to Share for many years, initiated the training, publicity, audience research, and marketing strategies, helped by the ten participating organizations, who formed a planning committee. In addition, Mrs Selman Armstrong used Kettle's Yard as an administrative base and visited over thirty visually-impaired focus groups, raising awareness of the project and collect-ing information, working with Marion Mansfield of Camsight.

Finally, the Education Officer would like to thank the following people for their invaluable and, in many cases, voluntary work on the Education Programme this year: Kate Travers, Diana Nelson, Rob Howard, Simon Schaffer, Adam Lowe, Alex Hodby, Lizzie Muller, Ioulia Patala, John Woolrich, Mick Gowar, Juan Cruz, YKY, Sarah Gibson, Gavin White, Caroline Matthews, Abbi Schofield, Charlie Marenga, and Peter Cook. We also say a farewell to Kimberley Foster as co-ordinator of holiday workshops, after three years of making remarkable collaborative artworks with young people.

10. Music

There were fifteen concerts in the subscription series during the past year.

Michaelmas Term

Lent Term

Easter Term

The rates of subscription in 1999-2000 were as follows:

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 sixth series of Friday lunch-time student concerts was organized by Jonathan Cohen and Chris Brown, of Clare College.

There were two weekends of new music, twenty-seven student concerts, and three jazz concerts, with one master-class.

11. Attendance

33,021 visits to seven exhibitions over 275 days *

21,242 visits to the house over 308 days

7,329 participants in educational activities, talks, and lectures, and through group visits

3,670 attendances at concerts

1,760 attendances through corporate and other bookings.

* This figure does not include attendances elsewhere, e.g., at the other venues for N01SE, the Ely Cathedral installation, and tour venues.

The figure of 33,021 for exhibitions compares with 31,801 last year. 21,242 house visits compares with 20,569 last year. The overall attendance of 67,022 compares with 67,253 in 1998-99.

12. Finance

Summary accounts for 1999-2000 for each of the main areas of activity are shown in the table below:

* £7,442 of the Arts Council Grant to In to Touch, included in the income figure, is carried forward and committed to the project in 2000-01.

In addition, Kettle's Yard Music had an income of £26,985 for the year and an expenditure of £24,031, which together with the £5,388 carried forward from 1998-99, left a surplus of £8,342 to be carried forward to 2000-01.

13. Conclusion

The Committee are again grateful to the Eastern Arts Board, South Cambridgeshire District Council, and Cambridgeshire County Council for their continued revenue funding. Cambridge City Council this year added to their annual grant two substantial Millennium Awards. Once again the Henry Moore Foundation, the Isaac Newton Trust, the South Eastern Museums Service, and the Elephant Trust have provided project funding.

We have also been helped by the Arts Council of England, the Department for Education and Employment, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the Radcliffe Trust, the Holst Foundation, the Wyseliot Charitable Trust, the Britten-Pears Foundation, the Chapman Family Trust, Lord and Lady Gibson's Charity Trust, Mrs Phyllis Hetzel, and other individuals.

The Committee would like to thank all of these and acknowledge the substantial support of the Friends of Kettle's Yard whose expanding membership and hardworking committees provide an invaluable element of security in our planning.

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Cambridge University Reporter Special, 19 January 2001
Copyright © 2001 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.