Saturday & Sunday, 6 & 7 July, 12-6pm

Wysing’s Annual Open Weekend returns with open studios, a gallery exhibition and performance event, special guest speakers from our neighbouring villages and hands-on workshops for families. All free!

Click on the image to see more photos of the Open Weekend.

Activity over both days:

12-6pm Exhibition and performance event
Jonathan Baldock’s gallery exhibition will be activated for the duration of the Open Weekend by leading British choreographer Henrietta Hale and her collective of performance-makers, Dog Kennel Hill Project. They will be based in the gallery which will be open  throughout the two days with performance times 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.15pm and 5.30pm over both days.

12-6pm Open Studios
A once a year opportunity to see into the studios of Erica Böhr, Julie Brenot, Jackie Chettur, Elena Cologni, Alexandra Drysdale. Lawrence Epps, Bettina Furnée, Nora Maycock, Josepa Munoz, Rob Smith, Helen Stratford, Ash Summers, Caroline Wendling, Lisa Wilkens and Caroline Wright.

2-4pm Family Workshops: Stage, Prop, Perform
With a new take on Wysing’s family den making days, artists Rob Smith and Sophie Buxton lead workshops to build sets and stages, make backdrops and props, create cloaks and characters. Families are invited to animate and activate their own area of Wysing’s outdoor space with sculptural platforms, playful performance and storytelling. Suitable for all ages.

Guest speakers on Saturday 6 July:

A day of local knowledge, uncovered

1pm  Paul Beskeen from the Pumpkin Patch Observatory, Bourn and expert in astrophotography will give a presentation, Hidden in full view, revealing the invisible universe, emphasing hidden components and structures that our eyes can’t register, even when looking through a telescope.

3pm  The Cambridge riverfront and the village of Madingley are the subjects of a presentation by freelance anthropologist Dr. Nicholas James about history hidden in Cambridge’s scenery. He will reveal stories concealed within the landscape. 

5pm  Author and musician Nigel Pennick will give the presentation Boundaries Visible and Invisible: Borderlines of the Physical, Legal, Cultural, Sacred, Magical and Eldritch. Followed by music with contributions from Jon Ward.

Guest speakers on Sunday 7 July:

An afternoon on the Bourn Cookery Book and local food

2-4pm Hear more about our plans to publish the third edition of the Bourn Cookery Book* and find out about Cambridgeshire’s local produce. Contributors to the day are artist Giles Round, Jo & Mark Proud from Manor Farm, Bourn with special invited guests. *Published with the kind permission of Margaret Greenwood, editor of the first two books.

We will be collecting recipes for the cookery book over the weekend and at Bourn Church Fête, where we will have a stall on Saturday 6 July, from 2.30pm.