Newsletter: Events at Clare Hall, Summer 2025
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.
Upcoming Events
Monday 14 July 2025 – Tuesday 15 July 2025
The Therapeutic Focus on the Present: Ancient philosophers in dialogue with modern clinicians
Clare Hall Life Member Georgia Mouroutsou is co-organising an upcoming conference at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities in Cambridge. There are still a few seats available for those who are interested in attending, please register with James Warren (jiw1001@cam.ac.uk).
Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers were intensely interested in how our attitudes and attention to the past, present, and future can be directed to improve our well-being. (For example: focussing on a past pleasure to alleviate present pain or focussing on the present moment to combat anxiety about the future.) Modern clinicians also regularly consider how attention and focus on the present can be beneficial to mental health and how attitudes to the past or future can affect mental health. The title ‘Present’ reflects both the immediate ‘now’ and relational dynamics—similar to how Socrates’ relationship with his interlocutors evolves over time and the therapist-patient relationship.
We will bring together established academics specialising in ancient philosophy and clinicians actively engaged in cutting-edge research. Our primary objective is to foster genuine two-way dialogue between these two groups of people in a series of workshops that will pair a philosopher with a clinician to offer papers and responses that will be mutually illuminating.
The workshop will take the form of an active dialogue between people engaged in current clinical practice and scholars who work on the insights and proposals drawn from ancient Greek and Roman ethics and moral psychology. Partners in the discussion will be encouraged to develop their conversation and the project network created by the meetings will facilitate their ongoing work and support further research projects that emerge.
Wednesday 16 July 2025, from 4:30-6:30pm
Summer beginner Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Session
Clare Hall student Emilie Herpain, is organising a second workshop this Sunday for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. All are welcome to attend, of all abilities. There will be several more workshops over the summer with accredited coaches in the Sports Centre, as well as regular sessions in Michaelmas. Please register through the link or QR code below:
Friday 18 July 2025, from 6pm
Cambridge Open Studios tour of Fiona Blake and Jeannette Josse
We are delighted to share that Fiona Blake, Fellow Commoner of Clare Hall and Secretary of the Art Committee, will be hosting an exhibition as part of the Cambridge Open Studios. There will be a preview on Friday 18 July, and the exhibition will be open for the weekends of 19/20 and 26/27 July, from 10am-5pm.
All proceeds from Fiona’s work go to Jimmy’s Cambridge, the charity providing for the homeless in Cambridge. https://www.jimmyscambridge.org.uk/
Sunday 20 July 2025 – Tuesday 22 July 2025
Clare Hall Household Item Swap
As part of Clare Hall’s active effort to reuse and repurpose household items, we are running an end of the year item Swap for everyone at Clare Hall!
If you are moving out and have too many things to transport, or if you just want to de-clutter your room, then the Swap is the place for you! Alternatively, if you are looking for some new sustainable clothes or wanting to revamp your room for next year, the Swap is also the place for you!
On Sunday 20th July from 12:00-17:00, come drop off your unwanted or unused items in the Clare Hall Meeting Room on the main site. Or, if you’re looking for some new items come down to the meeting room on Monday 21st or Tuesday 22nd July from 18:00-21:00 to pick up some new bits! All the items are FREE!
Read more about what types of items are accepted and not accepted here. Each person is limited to donating 7 items.
Wednesday 23 July 2025 – Wednesday 24 September 2025
Clare Hall Summer Seminars
The Clare Hall Summer Seminar Series will return this year, running from 23 July to 24 September. This series offers Clare Hall Visiting Fellows, Fellows and Life Members an opportunity to share their current research with the wider Clare Hall community.
The talks are intended to be accessible to a general yet intellectually engaged audience. Seminars will take place on Wednesdays in the Clare Hall Meeting Room from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, just before Formal Hall. All are welcome to attend. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the audience, speakers are kindly asked to avoid jargon and prioritise clarity and accessibility. Each session will feature a 30-minute presentation, followed by comments and questions over drinks.
Find the full list of speakers on this page.
Sunday 27 July 2025, from 7:30pm
Summer of Music at Clare Hall: Mélanie Clapiès and Patrick Hemmerlé
We are delighted to present a summer concert featuring works by Schumann, Fauré, and Enescu. These composers represent a lineage of musical influence, with Fauré serving as a key link between the earlier Romantic style of Schumann and the later, more modern style of Enescu. Enescu, while influenced by both, developed his own distinct voice, incorporating Romanian folk music into his compositions.
Tickets available on Eventbrite.
Sunday 24 August 2025, from 3pm
Student Fellow Concert
We are delighted to host a concert featuring Clare Hall students, postdocs, and fellows on 24th August 2025, from 3pm in the Dining Hall. There will be a reception with light refreshments.
All are welcome to attend and admission is free. Please RSVP through this link.
Programme
- Piano trio – Nicolas Spiesshofer (piano), James Tanna (violin), Nikolai Kazantsev (cello) performing Debussy Piano Trio in G Major, 1st movement
- Koto solo – Maelie Causse
- Duet – Nicolas Spiesshofer (piano), Lisa Valentini (voice) performing Nina Simone’s ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’
- Saxophone solo – Glen Downie
- Duet – James Tanna (violin), Nikolai Kazantsev (cello) performing Schubert’s Serenade (Standchen)
- Solo – Jehangir Cama (piano) performing Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Current Exhibitions
Thursday 19 June – Thursday 31 July 2025
A Painter’s Progress: an exhibition of paintings by Ben Henriques
Clare Hall is delighted to present an exhibition by Ben Henriques, from 19th June to 31st July 2025.
Introduction by Frances Spalding, Chair of the Clare Hall Art Committee
One long-standing tradition in the History of Art is the habit of painting ordinary things. Much loved, in the Fitzwilliam Museum’s collection, is Henri Fantin-Latour’s small painting of a white cup and saucer, with a silver teaspoon, against a dark background. It is almost always on display and reproductions of this picture sell like hot cakes by the dozen. Ben Henriques is likewise a skillful exponent of this genre, bringing a remarkable intensity to simple subjects. But how does he achieve this? This question will be asked by many who come to his exhibition at Clare Hall, on show between 19th June and 31st July. Two things come to the fore: the quality of attention given to his subject matter, and the grip that his handling of paint achieves on canvas, his brush marks veering between the willed and the spontaneous, as if searching for ontological certainty. Yet, his paintings result in recognisable images, but this is not slick photo-realism, but something much more alive and sensuous. Come and experience the effects he creates, for, like Fantin-Latour, his art has both simplicity and depth.
Ongoing
The Bell Collection of British Studio Pottery, 1920-1980
A rotating display of some 320 pieces of studio ceramics. Learn more at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/bellcollection/
Activities and Societies
Mondays, 30 June – 15 September 2025
Pilates Sessions
We are delighted to host pilates classes at Clare Hall throughout the summer. The classes will be held on Mondays during lunchtime. 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.
Tuesdays, ongoing through the summer and Michaelmas Term
Mindful Meditation Sessions
Through mindfulness we cultivate attention to the here and now. We aim to witness our thoughts and feelings with detachment. We develop concentration, peace of mind and enjoyment of life with all its challenges.
As a group, we explore different means of developing mindfulness, including relaxation, guided meditation and attention to the breath or to a mantra. The sessions are led by Elizabeth Garnsey, and meet in the King Room on Main Site on Tuesdays 1-2pm. The door is open 1-2 but you are welcome to slip in and out whenever convenient for you. All members of the college and friends are welcome, including students, staff, fellows, researchers and visitors. Please contact ewg11@cam.ac.uk with any questions.
Monday 4 August 2025, 8pm
Clare Hall Book Club
Join the College’s Book Club as they discuss The Third Temple by Yishai Sarid. 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.
Various Dates
Choir Practice
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.