arts and culture – Katie Thornburrow

“The Soul of Chinese Music”

On Saturday I was at a fabulous concert of Chinese music held in Trinity College Chapel as part of the extensive Cambridge Chinese Music & Culture festival, which is co-hosted by the Cambridge Qin Society, Cambridge University Chinese Orchestra Society and Cambridge Chinese Community Centre.

The concert lived up to its name, The Soul of Chinese Music, and it was a real pleasure to hear the wide variety of musical styles, played on instruments from the guqin, the ehru and the yangqin to the piano and flute, and I especially enjoyed the Guqin Ensemble’s performances.

My good friend and former councillor and mayor Dinah Pounds and her husband Adam were also there to perform, with a beautiful meditation on passing time composed by Adam also on the programme.

Great to see the new Carter Bridge Murals

There was a lovely event this morning to mark the official launch of the Carter Bridge murals, commissioned by the city council and designed and painted by the team at Art Streets based on a series of community workshops.

International mural artist ATMA led the design work and we now have two wonderful murals, one on the base of the bridge on the station side and one covering the panels on the left as you cycle down into Romsey.

The mural on the Romsey side.. with foxes!

I couldn’t be there today to hear Iona and ATMA talk about the project and its inspiration, but I’ve watched the work progress over the last two weeks and will see it often in future. The Mayor and some of my fellow councillors, including Tim Griffin, were there to represent the city council.

Iona and ATMA from Art Streets in front of the mural

During the project thirty-eight local residents volunteered to help, and they got a well-deserved round of applause to thank them for their work on behalf of their community. And I’d like to add my thanks as a local councillor.

Art Streets are open for commissions: https://www.artstreets.co.uk/

A new mural for the Carter Bridge

I’ve just been to see work starting on the new murals being painted on the Carter Bridge which crosses the railway line between Devonshire Road and Sturton Street.

It’s a really exciting project funded by Cambridge City Council and overseen by the Creative Partnerships team within Cultural Services. The murals have been developed by the community arts organisation Art Streets working with the local community through several workshops and other events.

The lead artist on the project, ATMA, is an international mural artist and participation specialist, and between now and the official opening of the murals on August 15 he will be working with a team that includes local volunteers to transform the base and interior of the bridge.

Katie and Iona talking at the base of the bridge while Matt from Art Streets works on the outline of the mural

It was a real pleasure to talk to Iona Hodgson from Art Streets, and to see ATMA’s vision start to take shape on the base of the bridge. I am looking forward to seeing the murals every time I cycle across the bridge or go to the railway station.

More about Art Streets: https://www.artstreets.co.uk/
More about the artist, ATMA: https://www.atma-art.com/

Ironworks Time Capsule

[Image shows Gerri Bird, Richard Robertson and Katie Thornburrow with the steel time capsule]

The Ironworks development on the old council depot site off Mill Road has brought 182 new homes, half of them new council homes, as well as the much-needed community centre.

On Thursday 26th Cllr Gerri Bird, our executive councillor for housing, helped to bury a stainless steel time capsule in the Ironworks community garden, accompanied by council officers and representatives of Hills, the contractors.

The capsule contains material commemorating the area’s time as a main depot for council vehicles, as well as memories of those who worked there and local residents, and its location is marked with a plaque.

I cycle through the Ironworks on my way to and from Mill Road, and it’s a lovely development with a growing community. It’s nice to know its history hasn’t been forgotten.

Cambridge Film Festival opening night

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the opening night of this year’s Cambridge Film Festival – the 38th! It was wonderful to see my old friend and Festival Director Tony Jones in his element, and to meet the noted director Terry Gilliam, whose film ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ was being screened.

Tony Jones and Terry Gilliam at the opening night of CFF

I’ve been going to the Arts Picturehouse – and before that the Arts Cinema – for as long as I’ve lived in Cambridge and have a strong connection to the Film Festival going back many years, and I wish it well.

The full programme for this year is available online and I urge you to have a look – you’re bound to find something to entertain, intrigue or challenge you among the excellent selection of new and old films curated by Tony and his team.

I really enjoyed last night’s film – it’s just what you’d expect from Terry Gilliam, and the richness of his imagination continues to astonish me. It’s showing again on Saturday 27, so you have a chance to see it.