Murray Edwards renames art collection to promote women artists

The College’s New Hall Art Collection will revert to its original name, The Women’s Art Collection

Murray Edwards’ art collection is displayed across the college buildings and groundsCmglee/Wikimedia Commons

by Serge Isman

This article is 3 years old

Sunday April 10 2022, 7:29pm

Murray Edwards College has announced that the New Hall Art Collection will revert back to its original name, The Women’s Art Collection.

Murray Edwards said that renaming the Collection would “better promote the work of women artists”. The change will take effect from 20 April.

The Collection holds over 500 works of modern and contemporary art, making it the largest of its kind in Europe.

It aims “to champion artists who identify as women, to give them visibility and a voice, and promote their work within the ethos of an academic college for women dedicated to gender equality”.

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Murray Edwards President Dorothy Byrne said: “The percentage of works by women in public galleries is shamefully low. This is one of the main reasons why there is still a need for a collection of art solely by women.

“Nothing else like the collection exists in Cambridge or elsewhere in the country and I think it’s an absolute travesty that so few people even know of its existence.”

The Collection was founded in 1986 when the College acquired American artist Mary Kelly’s Extase, a series of six prints. At the time, Kelly was living in Murray Edwards and working at Kettle’s Yard.

It has since grown through gifts and loans from artists and alumni, and now includes work by Paula Rego, Maggi Hambling, Tracey Emin, Lubaina Hamid, and Judy Chicago.

The Collection is free to all visitors, and is displayed across the College buildings and grounds, including in the iconic Dome.

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