Museums and Galleries of Cambridge: Review

It can be said of small towns or villages (which Cambridge definitely comes under the catergory of in my opinion) that the art scene is often lacking and too limited. However with the University Museums and the different forms and manifestations of Galleries, there is an interesting mixture of art to go and see in Cambridge.

I cannot begin a review of the museums to go and see in Cambridge without starting with the Fitzwilliam museum. The museum has an amazing collection from Europe's Old Masters of different periods, a classical collection, an Egytian wing and so much more. The events on at the museum every year add a differet sort of atmosphere to the ornate and luxurious decor of the rooms throughout the musem: Love Art After Dark sees thousands of students flock to the museum on an evening in Lent Term amidst the paintings and their sumptuous frames; the scene is set for scintillating conversatiion and art appreciation.

Every time one goes to the Fitzwilliam museum, one cannot go without noticing or seeing something new and learning about different aspects of life and culture both past and present. The temporary exhibitions always have a direction that involves a snapshot on an history through art and artefacts. However, there is always a transcending way that it is curated that allows reflection on the way that we live now through prompts of fine art. For instance the Treasured Possessions exhibition that is on at the museum at the moment does just this. When looking at what was treasured in Britain and in Europe in previous periods, it brings to question what it is that we nowadays in modern Britain treasure and strive to possess. Is it only the elite who have treasured possessions and are ordinary objects valuable? The exhibiton is definitely worth a visit.

A Gallery that is most intruiging is the House turned Gallery: Kettle's Yard. A curator of the Tate Gallery in London in the 1920s and 30s, Jim Ede was a collector of 20th Century art. In his own space his collection is immoratlised and intrigingly displayed in its original setting. This house-museum setting is not unique - for instance the Soane Museum in London - but it is a very interesting form of Gallery. We see private colections as they were originally intended by the collector. The different rooms all have a different atmosphere due to the way the artworks are curated around the house.

The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on the Museums site on Downing Street has a collection that is amazingly displayed and curated. The cabinets and the ordering of the artefact are intruiging and it is a real cabin of curiosities. I recognised straight away the Benin art in the West African art cabinet that was predominanty Nigerian art.The only problem with grouping different continent artworks together in a museum like this is that it creates a sense of the 'other' that is just meant to be there as an exoticizing and eotic experience rather than as a way to display these artefacts as artworks or in a way that is true too their original contexts.

There are other galleries in Cambridge that exhibit and sell contemporary art, however they often are not curated nor do they hold a theme within the gallery but if you want to see contemporary art of different mediums it wouldn't hurt to pop in and look around. There is art and things to learn from the art scene in Cambridge.

#museum #gallery #review #cambridge #curation