Part of the Pembroke Open Doors Festival
Pembroke College is presenting Engaging Pembroke, an exhibition featuring new work by three Cambridge based artists – Idit Nathan, Rebecca Ilett and Xinyi Bi – with an introduction by Professor Rosalind Polly Blakesley. The exhibition launches on Saturday 16 September as part of the Pembroke Open Doors Festival, and continues until 8 October 2023.
The exhibition forms part of the public engagement activity for Pembroke’s public art programme, inviting contemporary artists to respond to the College’s evolving Mill Lane site and explore Pembroke’s history, collections and communities. The redevelopment of the Old Press / Mill Lane area has created new publicly accessible gardens, exhibition and performance space, offering fresh opportunities for artists and visitors to engage with the College’s presence in the city.
For Engaging Pembroke, conceptual artist Idit Nathan, sculptor and jeweller Rebecca Ilett, and illustrator and designer Xinyi Bi were invited to consider how Pembroke’s site and stories might be brought into dialogue with their own practices. Their works offer new perspectives on the College’s relationship with Cambridge — from playful prompts and material investigations to reflections on place, memory and participation.
The exhibition opens on 16 September, 1.45pm–6pm, in the Pembroke College Exhibition Room at the Mill Lane site. After the festival launch, it will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–4pm, until 8 October 2023.
Engaging Pembroke is part of the University of Cambridge’s Open Cambridge programme, celebrating creativity, heritage and public engagement across the city.