Newsletter: Events at Clare Hall, Summer 2026
Dear Clare Hall members and friends,
Please find below a list of events taking place this week and beyond, to which you are warmly invited.
➢ Members’ events
New Clare Hall Books |
Pre-order now!
Clare Hall is delighted to share news of two forthcoming that highlight the College’s engagement with art, collecting and material culture.
Collecting Dutch Golden Age Paintings: The Search for the Winterfeldt Wouwerman by Professor Alan Short, President of Clare Hall, offers a personal and scholarly reflection on the pursuit of Dutch Golden Age paintings, drawing on decades of research and collecting experience. Several works from this collection are displayed in the President’s Lodge.
Studio Potters: The Bell Collection at Clare Hall by Clare Hall Associates Professor Gordon Bell and Helen Ritchie celebrates the Bell Collection, one of the College’s most distinctive cultural assets.
Find more information and pre-order the books here. There is a 10% discount if you subscribe to the publisher’s newsletter.
Clare Hall Through Your Lens: Seasonal Photography Competition |
Monday 16 February – Monday 2 November 2026
Following the wonderful response to our community photo project, Clare Hall Through Your Lens continues throughout this special anniversary year as our official 60th Anniversary Photography Competition.
We invite students, fellows, staff, and families to capture Clare Hall’s grounds, gardens, and moments of college life across all four seasons. At the end of each season, a judging panel will select the top three photographs, which will go forward to be included in a commemorative Clare Hall 60th Anniversary Calendar.
This is a chance to celebrate Clare Hall at 60, highlight our natural environment, and contribute to a lasting visual record of the College during this milestone year.
Find out how to take part on the main event page.
Family Supper |
Friday 12 June 2026, from 5.30pm
Join us for a Family Supper starting in the Meeting Room at 5.30pm where we do a craft activity, before heading for supper at about 6pm. After supper we will return to the Meeting Room to watch a film together if there is enough demand.
There is no need to book – this is an informal event and dinner will be the regular dining hall with usual prices, and half price for children. Family suppers are organised by Chandy Nath and Susannah Salter.
Clare Hall May Event 2026 |
Friday 19 June 2026, from 6.30pm
Clare Hall’s Swinging Sixties-themed May Event will take place on 19 June 2026 from 18:30–02:00. We hope you will join us! Your ticket includes free food and drinks throughout the night, four live bands, and lots of entertainment, including a tarot card reader and a silent disco.
May Event ticket sales close on 10 June, so make sure to purchase yours soon!
Buy tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/clarehallgsb/2079556
Annual Cricket Match 2026 |
Wednesday 24 June 2026, 12.30pm
Join us for this year’s annual cricket match – President’s XI vs Students – that masks 60 years of Clare Hall! There will be an enjoyable game of cricket, followed by afternoon tea. A particular highlight is to see past players travel up for the day to ignite former (friendly) rivalries and make new team mates!
The event is free and open to all, and if you would like to learn more or get involved, please email cricket@clarehall.cam.ac.uk.
Please sign up below to help us with catering, so we can make sure there is enough food and refreshments for all guests:
Sign Up Form – Clare Hall Cricket Match and Tea
➢ Lectures and talks
Clare Hall Colloquia – Easter 2026 |
Tuesday 28 April – Tuesday 16 June 2026, 7.15pm
The Clare Hall Colloquia provide members of the College – especially (but not exclusively) Visiting Fellows and Life Members – with an opportunity to present their research, whether in its early stages or already published, in a friendly setting. They are a great way to discuss your ideas, meet fellow members and to contribute to our vibrant community. Sessions take place on Tuesday evenings during term time, 7.15–9.15pm, in the Clare Hall Meeting Room. Refreshments are provided.
The next talk will take place on 9 June with speaker Professor Anna Marie Roos (Emerita, Visting Fellow, University of Lincoln).
Title: Taking Newton on Tour: The Scientific Grand Tour of Martin Folkes (1690-1754)
This talk is an analysis of the ‘Scientific Grand Tour’ taken by Martin Folkes. Martin Folkes (1690–1754) was Newton’s protégé, antiquary, mathematician, and the only simultaneous President of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries. In 1733–5, he went on a Grand Tour as a scientific ambassador for the Royal Society, demonstrating Newtonian optics to Italian virtuosi. He also measured ancient and Renaissance buildings to understand past architectural engineering and design. His 97-page illustrated diary, now in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, also challenges the long-standing, mistaken, impression among scholars that the Royal Society was in decline in the eighteenth century. Analysing Folkes’s activities abroad, and tracing his Italian route, provides a novel reading of Newtonianism and the purpose of the Grand Tour as a vehicle for scientific research and statesmanship.
Please see the full Easter programme here.
The Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography |
Thursday 21 May – Thursday 4 June 2026, 2.15pm
The Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography offers a unique opportunity for students and scholars to reflect on some great historical works and engage in discussion with renowned experts. This Easter term, the seminar will take place between the 21 May and the 4 June and will be composed of three meetings. The charming and fresh atmosphere of the Richard Eden Suite in Clare Hall, West Court, will be the location for the discussions.
The next meeting is on Thursday 4 June from 2.15-4.00pm with speaker David N. Cannadine (Emeritus Dodge Professor of History, Princeton University)
Find more information here. Register for the seminars via Eventbrite.
Building Healthy Societies SIG – Easter 2026 |
Tuesday 16 June 2026, 5pm
All Clare Hall members are warmly welcome to attend the meetings of the new Building Healthy Societies SIG this Easter term. The meetings are held on Tuesdays at 5pm, followed by supper together at 6pm.
The next meeting is on 16 June with speaker Sahana Narayan, MS, MSPH (St Cross College, Oxford) – The RIPPLE Effect: Using A Sociotechnical Framework to Characterize Uncertainty, Pressure, and Clinical Escalation in Maternal-Fetal Medicine
For any questions, please contact the SIG leads Dr Nikolai Kazantsev (nk622@cam.ac.uk), Dr Elizabeth Garnsey (ewg11@cam.ac.uk), or Anjali Sergeant (aks203@cam.ac.uk).
Biomedical & Life Sciences SIG |
Wednesday 1 July 2026, 6pm
All Clare Hall members are welcome to attend the meeting for the Biomedical & Life Sciences SIG held on Wednesday 1 July, 6-7pm, in the Meeting Room.
Speaker: Professor Donald Tipper (Life Member and former Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall; Professor Emeritus, UMass Chan Medical School) – ‘Quality Control of Transmembrane Protein Insertion orientation at the ER’
For further information, please contact convenors Dr Chris Cooper at cdoc3@cam.ac.uk, or Dr Rachel Sippy at rjs271@medschl.cam.ac.uk, or Dr Mike Trower at miket.clarehall@gmail.com.
IE Programme: The Billion-Dollar Algorithm |
Wednesday 8 July 2026, 6pm
Is AI rewriting the rules of competition — and is the law keeping up?
On 8 July, Clare Hall welcomes Dr Manuela Dal Borgo for a talk that sits at the intersection of machine learning, economics, and antitrust law.
🎙️ The Billion-Dollar Algorithm: How AI is Rewriting the Rules of Competition Economics
📅 8 July 2026, 6:00–7:00pm
📍 Clare Hall Meeting Room
🎟️ Free to attend — Register here
Dr Dal Borgo brings rare first-hand experience directing AI strategy in multi-billion-dollar antitrust litigations and global mergers. Expect a candid look at how LLM pipelines and data science are deployed in live competition cases — and what that means for market regulation and governance worldwide.
➢ Music
Clare Hall Summer Concert |
Monday 22 June 2026, 7.30pm
Everyone is warmly invited to the Summer Concert, hosted by the Clare Hall Choir and featuring performances by students and fellows.
The concert will take place on Monday 22 June 2026 at 7.30pm in the Dining Hall, followed by cheese and wine at 8.30pm in the Common Room.
This event is open to all and free to attend. Please RSVP via this link.
The Portrait Players and Dame Emma Kirkby |
Saturday 27 June 2026, 7.30pm
Join us for the last concert of the season! The Portrait Players join Dame Emma Kirkby, Honorary Fellow of Clare Hall, for a programme exploring the rise of virtuoso women singers in late sixteenth-century Italy.
At the heart of the performance is the celebrated Concerto delle Donne of Ferrara, a pioneering ensemble of three sopranos who performed within the exclusive world of the court’s musica secreta. Renowned for their richly ornamented madrigals and expressive ensemble singing, these musicians inspired composers across Italy to create dazzling new works for upper voices and helped expand professional opportunities for women in music.
The programme features music by composers closely associated with this movement, including Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Claudio Monteverdi, alongside works by influential women composers whose careers flourished in its wake, such as Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi.
Tickets are available via Eventbrite.
➢ Art
‘Infinite Variations’ – A 60th Anniversary Exhibition of Art in the Life of Clare Hall |
Friday 20 March – Friday 19 June 2026, 10am-4pm
Clare Hall is delighted to present its 60th Anniversary exhibition of artworks collected over the years. It is open to public from 20th March to 19th June 2026, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.
Find more information on the main event page.
The Bell Collection of British Studio Pottery, 1920-1980 |
Ongoing
A rotating display of some 400 pieces of studio ceramics. Learn more at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/bellcollection/
➢ External events
Cambridge Autism Research Centre Public Lecture |
Wednesday 1 July 2026, 5.30pm
Join Associate Professor Erin Hoare, Clare Hall Guest Scholar, in conversation about how autism-affirming systems can unlock high performance in sport, higher education and leadership.
Date: Wednesday 1 July 2026
Time: 5:30 – 6:30pm (doors open from 5:00pm)
Location: Winstanley Lecture Theatre – Trinity College, Trinity Street, Cambridge, CB2 1TQ
Tickets: This event is free and open to all (children must be accompanied by an adult at all times). Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Find more information and book your tickets via Eventbrite.
SDG & AI+ Academic Conferences 2026 |
Monday 20 July – Sunday 16 August 2026
Two non-profit, peer-reviewed academic conferences focusing on SDG and AI+ will be held in Cambridge in summer 2026. Both events are organised by UniHive and hosted by Clare Hall and Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.
Professor David Cope (Foundation Fellow at Clare Hall) and Professor Pietro Liò (Professorial Fellow at Clare Hall) will act as the Academic Chair of each conference.
MASAMB Annual Meeting 2026 |
Register by Monday 24 August 2026
The MRC Biostatistics Unit is delighted to be hosting the Mathematical and Statistical Aspects of Molecular Biology (MASAMB) annual meeting 2026, on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 September 2026 at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
Find more details, submit your abstract, and register for the event here.
Life Member’s LEGO® Project |
Support idea by February 2027
Life Member Dr Chu-Cheng Lin (PhD 2016–2021; now a postdoctoral researcher in Zoology/PDN) has created a detailed biological laboratory built from LEGO, inspired by his work in cancer cell biology, neurobiology, molecular biology and entomology.
The project is currently on the LEGO Ideas platform and needs support to reach the 10,000 votes required for official review (now at ~2,000). If successful, it could become a real commercial LEGO set, helping bring the world of scientific research to a wider audience.
👉 Learn more and support the project:
https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/ab52d2c2-0688-48e7-a7d1-77ae54a6aa4b
Every vote helps increase visibility and bring this unique scientific model closer to reality. Below is just a part of the whole project.
➢ Activities and Societies
Pilates Sessions: Easter 2026 |
Mondays and Fridays, 13 April – 15 June 2026
We are delighted to host pilates classes at Clare Hall throughout the Easter Term. The classes will be held on Mondays during lunchtime and fortnightly on Friday evenings. Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while improving postural alignment and flexibility.
A full list of dates and the sign up sheet can be found here.
STRONG by Zumba sessions: Easter 2026 |
Tuesdays, 14 April – 16 June 2026
Clare Hall is delighted to host a new fitness class called STRONG by Zumba in the Easter Term. The classes will be held on Tuesdays, 5-5.45pm, in the Richard Eden Suite.
STRONG by Zumba combines body weight, muscle conditioning, cardio and plyometric training moves synced to original music that has been specifically designed to match every single move. Every squat, every lunge, every burpee is driven by the music, helping you make it to that last rep, and maybe even five more.
Please bring your own mat and a water bottle, and plan to arrive 5–10 minutes early to assist with setting up the room.
A full list of dates and the sign up sheet can be found here.
Yoga Sessions: Easter 2026 |
Thursdays and Sundays, 19 April – 14 June 2026
We are delighted to host regular Thursday lunchtime and Sunday afternoon yoga sessions in the Easter term. Yoga is a holistic mind–body practice that combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to promote strength, flexibility, and inner balance.
A full list of dates and the sign up sheet can be found here.
Free Real Tennis Lessons |
Saturdays, 6 June – 13 June 2026, 11am
All Clare Hall members are welcome to attend free real tennis lessons at the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club opposite Robinson College. The lessons will take place on Saturdays, 6 June and 13 June, 11am-1pm.
Find more information on the poster below.
Clare Hall Book Club |
Monday 6 July 2026, 8pm
Join the College’s Book Club as they discuss Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse by David Ferry. All College members are welcome to attend in-person, meeting in Clare Hall’s Meeting Room, or via Zoom. If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, please send an email to gloria.carnevali@icloud.com, confirming your Clare Hall connection and putting the following as the email title: I would like to join the Book Club mailing list.
Learn more about the Book Club on this page.
Choir Practice |
Various Dates
A reminder that Clare Hall Choir practice takes place in Robinson College Chapel every Monday (in term-time, but not always restricted to the official Cambridge term dates) from 7.30-9pm. New members are always welcome, and no previous singing or musical experience is necessary. The only requirement is that you want to sing and have fun doing it! If you are interested in joining, please email Ben de Souza, the Choir’s Director, who is a Clare Hall Associate, freelance choral conductor and accordionist: bd402@cam.ac.uk.
Recent recordings of the choir can also be found on our YouTube channel.
Clare Hall Families |
Various Dates
Clare Hall Families is an informal group that holds events throughout the year, centred around our popular Family Suppers, which take place each term.
Join the Clare Hall Families mailing list and WhatsApp group by filling out the form.
For any enquiries, please contact Chandy Nath at chandy.nath@gmail.com.
Find a full range of events at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/events