The University is hosting a number of fascinating exhibitions over the summer, giving the public an opportunity to discover a range of work across science, art and society.
Birth Rites – Various locations on Canterbury campus, 13 June – September
The first and only collection of contemporary artwork dedicated to the subject of childbirth has arrived on the University’s Canterbury campus. The collection was established by artist and curator Helen Knowles following a touring exhibition at the Glasgow Science Centre and Manchester Museum in 2008 and has since expanded to over 90 artworks, which include tapestries from the Birth Project (1981-83) by internationally renowned artist Judy Chicago, amongst many others.
All artworks are acquired through artist donation or commission and includes multiple art forms, including photography, performance, sculpture, painting, print, wallpaper, drawing, new media and film. Find out more about the collection here.
The Birth Rites Summer school will be hosted on the Canterbury Campus in September. There are 3 bursaries offered to Kent staff and/or students to attend.
Bison Mural – Cornwallis West, created 27 June – 1 July
To celebrate the introduction of European Bison into Blean Woods in the summer of 2022 as part of the Wilder Blean project, artist ATMstreetart will create a mural on the University’s Cornwallis building.
The Wilder Blean project is a ground-breaking initiative by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust which aims is to restore biodiversity to Blean Woods, one of the largest areas of ancient woodland in the United Kingdom. Bison are ecosystem engineers whose natural behaviours will help transform the woods into a lush, thriving, biodiverse environment once more.
Fish and Chips – Templeman Gallery, 22 June – September
This exciting exhibition, originally commissioned by Counterpoints Arts, explores how the history of Britain’s favourite dish is rooted in migration, movement and global trade. Artist Olivier Kugler, and writer Andrew Humphreys, reveal stories of migration from fish and chip shop owners across Kent.
The display has been co-curated by a volunteer Research and Curation Group who have reflected on themes presented within the Great British Fish and Chips exhibition. Find out more here.
Unfiltered Coast – Gulbenkian Arts Centre, 27 June – 1 July
The exhibition of artwork on coastal climate change by young people in Kent returns to the Canterbury campus for a second showing at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre. Part of Unfiltered Coast – a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council that engages young people in climate research on the Kent coast – the exhibition gives young people with an opportunity to express their concerns about climate change and the water crisis through art.
The team also hope to bring the exhibition to Ramsgate later in the year. Find out more here.
YouNome – Jarman, Studio 3 Gallery, 4 July – 14 August
This exciting and thought-provoking art-science collaboration between artist Keith Robinson and Biosciences researchers Dr Gary Robinson and Professor Darren Griffin explores genomics in a novel way through a series of Keith’s self-portraits, demonstrating the impact of individual chromosomes. Find our more here.
Kent’s students will also be hosting an exhibition at The Beaney in Canterbury. ‘Unveiled’ is a special exhibition curated by students on the University of Kent’s MA Curating programme which explores the relationship between revealing and concealing the self through masks, prints, paintings, film, and interactive filters. The exhibition, which is free, will run from Saturday 2 July to Sunday 31 July (Closed Mondays). Find out more here.