Take a breath, immerse yourself into the watery depths of the River Cam and its tributaries in a new exhibition and public programme with 30 artists and contributors. Opening up a space for reflection, we ask who does the river belong to, how can it become a space of commons and not of division, and how can we better care for this fluid being?

Find yourself swimming in Grantchester Meadows in a newly commissioned film by Phoebe Bostock, discover the hidden histories of women’s labour in the city with work by Abi Spendlove or encounter the ecological pollution in Samuel Johnson’s interactive work ‘Entropy’. The exhibition flows between the spaces of Robinson College Chapel and into its vault where Bin Brook runs underneath from the garden and into the River Cam. From poetry, sculpture, photography, interactive installations, painting and print, the River Cam is brought to life in all its complexity, recognising its engagement with colonial, patriarchal and class histories and periods of ecological misuse, but also finding hope in the communities that it draws together today and in changing attitudes and practices.

Join us for a processional performance evening on Thursday 23 June beginning in Robinson College Chapel and travelling out to the Bin Brook and the gardens, experiencing a variety of poetry and spoken word by a selection of creatives connecting to the River Cam and its tributaries. As part of Immersions: Into the River Cam.

Performances will pause on the bridges of Robinson College to reflect upon the connective nature of these spaces. There will also be opportunity to give an offering back to the water, sharing gratitude for the river and its communities.

The route is fully accessible, please wear weather appropriate clothing, and feel free to bring a folding chair to sit in the gardens.

Poets and Performers:

Jo Gifford

kin'd & kin'd (Kay Syrad and Clare Whistler)

Marion Leeper

JLM Morton

Alice Willitts

Free Entry: booking is recommended via this link. 6-8pm

Curated by Mattie O’Callaghan and Holly Pines. Supported by Robinson College and Cam Valley Forum

I’ll be joining in remotely sharing my Cam erasure (or illumination as I prefer to see it) ‘What’s Left When The River is Gone’ - scan the QR code above to listen or click here.

The original text was from the foreword to Anglian Water’s Pollution Incident Plan 2020-2025 by the CEO of Anglian Water.

Also on Tuesday 21st June, Friends of the River Cam are holding an event on Jesus Green again to re-declare the rights of the Cam and are hosting an open mic for river or climate related poems at 6.20pm.

Isn't declaring the rights of a river just... weird? Pointless? I don’t think so: no water, no life.

Declaring the right of a water body to flow cleanly and freely from source to sea is a way to signal the power of water.

Attend the event on the 21st to advocate for the River Cam - I would love to see this for the Wye, Frome, Churn, Severn and other local rivers currently unswimmable due to sewage and other pollution 💩

This government is total 💩 💩💩 But we can use time while we're waiting for them to do one to build and strengthen our voice and exercise our democratic right to make a bloody racket about things we care about 💪🏼 More details of the event are on their website https://www.friendsofthecam.org/content/re-declaring-rights-river-cam