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Friday 5 July 2013

Aid and Abet

As part of our public art unit we had a talk from CJ Mahony and Sarah Evans fro Aid & Abet on 20th of June. Founded by CJ, Sarah and David Kefford this artist-led contemporary art space located by Cambridge Railway Station encourages artists to take a risk and experiement with their artwork and share their work.
It is a production and presentation site for contemporary art that combines work, project, gallery and performance space allowing audiences and participants to engage with cross-disciplinary practices in both creative and critical ways. Aid & Abet is part of the CB1 programme for public art in Cambridge’s new City quarter near the Station Road area and is supported by Commissions East, Brookgate and Hill Residential.

CJ and Sarah had a powerpoint that they showed us all about their current and past work. They talked to us about how the business setting up the new university accommodation commissioned them to get public artwork for the new buildings. Sometimes companies can spend up to 3% of the cost of some new buildings on public art, when spending millions this is actually a lot of money that is spent on Public Art.

They talked through past projects and artists they have been involved with creating public art. Artists such as...

-David Ward
-Dryden Goodwin
-Antoni Malinowki
-Jem Finer


David Ward
David Ward’s commission for the CB1 development Foster’s Mill Firmament drew on the history of the mill and other buildings in Cambridge to create a temporary light projection for the iconic mill building at the centre of the CB1 site.


Dryden Goodwin
Dryden Goodwin is known for his intricate drawings, often in combination with photography, film, large-scale screen-based installations and soundtracks. The dispersal of the plates means that visitors and local residents may only see some of the plates, but will discover previously unnoticed etchings over a period of time as they further explore the site.
Dryden Goodwin will begin his commission for the CB1 development in 2013. Wander consists of 100 etched steel plates laid into the paving. Inspired by a series of drawings collected around Cambridge by the artist, these start close to the railway station and are scattered across the site.
Antoni Malinowki
Hundreds of small glass inserts across the brickwork of the new student accommodation respond to the changing light with reflections and shadows that create a large subtle drawing on the surface of the building.


Jem Finer
¡supercomputer! is a functioning computer made from a series of beautifully constructed and designed pipes, enclosed in a glass fronted pavilion, similar to the mainframe computers of the 1970s.



Aid & Abet are constantly running exciting projects and they are heavily involved with commissioning public art around Cambridge so it was brilliant to get an insight in to what they do.

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