Sidney Sussex College has unveiled a pioneering art installation that brings together scholarship, technology and academic experience in novel ways.
Celebration, a major new multimedia installation by artist-engineer Diana Scarborough, brings women’s intellectual work into the heart of the College’s most historic space. Commissioned to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of women to Sidney, the installation creates an interactive space featuring images reflecting contemporary female scholarship.
Rather than depicting faces, the portraits featured in Celebration portray hands of female Fellows holding objects they chose to represent their research and careers. From scientific instruments and historical texts to personal and symbolic artefacts, the work spans disciplines from medicine to engineering, climate science, philosophy, literature, economics, theology and international relations.
[Click on the image below to read and download the full catalogue of Celebration]
Installed in two tall niches within the College Hall, the gilded-frame artwork uses proximity sensors so approaching viewers activate different pairings of portraits. With thirty different portraits, viewed as pairs, the changing combination of images on the left- and right-screens offers unexpected visual connections across disciplinary divides, inviting visitors to reflect on how ideas intersect, evolve and inform one another.
The photographic style evokes Dutch still life painting, while the interactive technology quietly integrates contemporary practice into the College’s architectural history. Visitors do not simply observe the work; they participate in it.
Professor Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, Chair of the Forward Together Committee, said:
“Fifty years ago, Sidney took the path-breaking decision to admit women to a then all-male college. While the College has made significant strides since then, we still do not see equal representation of women across all aspects of College life. This exhibition draws attention to and helps to address that gap by amplifying the work and achievements of our remarkable women Fellows, and by placing their work at the heart of our historic College—in a space that has historically been used predominantly to celebrate the work of male fellows.”
Celebration was commissioned by the College’s Forward Together Committee and will remain on display in Hall officially from 14 February 2026 until the end of the 2025/26 academic year. The installation positions Sidney Sussex College at the forefront of how historic institutions can use contemporary art to interrogate scholarship, inclusion and the evolving nature of academic life.
Visitors to Sidney can view Scarborough’s Celebration from Monday to Friday, 9:30-12:00 and 14:00-17:00.
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About Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
Founded on 14 February 1596 through the legacy of Lady Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, Sidney Sussex College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. Its members have achieved innumerable academic successes, including four Nobel Prizes, and have made major contributions to society in science, the arts, education, business and politics.
The College is home to approximately 370 undergraduates, 320 postgraduates, 56 Fellows and a global alumni community of over 8,500. Proud of its past and ambitious for the future, Sidney Sussex College pursues academic excellence through the ideas and experiences of a scholarly community drawn from across the world, brought together in the heart of Cambridge city centre.
Among its many historical curiosities, the College is also the burial site of a severed head believed to be Oliver Cromwell’s.
About the Forward Together campaign at Sidney Sussex College
Forward Together is Sidney Sussex College’s year-long campaign celebrating the people, ideas and partnerships that shape the College’s future. Marking key milestones including 50 years of women at Sidney, the campaign reflects a commitment to inclusion, academic excellence and community impact.
Through events, commissions and philanthropy, Forward Together supports students, Fellows and alumni while investing in spaces, ideas and initiatives that strengthen Sidney for generations to come.
For more information, visit: https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/forwardtogether
About the Artist
Diana Scarborough is a Cambridge-based artist-engineer, creating multi-disciplinary work that intersects art, technology, science and the environment. Her careers as a telecommunications engineer, art teacher and workshop leader are influential in her creative and people-centred approach to creating art.
Scarborough’s work has been shown extensively in exhibitions, festivals and public spaces including Venice Biennale & Glastonbury festivals. She has been featured in numerous art, science and engineering journals and was selected by UKRI in their ‘101 Jobs that change the world’ campaign.
For more information, visit: https://www.ukri.org/news-and-events/101-jobs-that-change-the-world/video-diana-scarborough/ and www.dianascarborough.co.uk.
Contact:
Linh Nguyen
Communications@sid.cam.ac.uk
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