Cambridge students swap Blu Tack and posters for original art

Students in Cambridge are ditching traditional posters and Blu Tack in favour of adorning their rooms with professional works of art.

For almost 70 years, Kettle's Yard gallery in Cambridge has loaned framed art, from creatives like Ai Weiwei, to students from the city's universities for a £20 fee.

Sarah Kleinmoedhie, 22, a Politics student at the University of Cambridge who was one of about 100 who collected a piece this year, said: "It makes for such a good conversation starter when your friends come to your room."

The museum has said every piece has been returned despite some being brought back later than planned, including one borrowed by Stephen Hawking.

Naomi Polonsky, Kettle's Yard assistant curator, said: "The reason we know he [Hawking] participated in this scheme is that he is listed in the log for late returns... it did eventually come back to Kettle's Yard."

The loan scheme was established by art collector and curator Jim Ede, who founded Kettle's Yard in the 1950s.

He believed "young people could be at home unhampered by the greater austerity of the museum or public art gallery".

Students from the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University visited the gallery on Monday.

The museum said more than 100 students lined up at its doors, but only 86 pieces were on offer.

Kleinmoedhie, who has borrowed one, added: "I just think artwork is such a special way to engage with the world around you, and it is so interesting to visit here."

The value of the artwork is not disclosed, although the pieces are not from the gallery's core collection.

Polonsky added: "It is remarkable that it has existed since that time and many students at the university write in with reminiscences, even when borrowing the artwork in the 1960s."

Polonsky said students from 29 out of the 31 colleges at the University of Cambridge collected a piece of artwork last year.

Students have to pay a £30 refundable deposit in case a piece is damaged or not returned.

Some of the pieces loaned out in 2026 included a limited edition print of Motorbike by surrealist artist Bevis Sale and a piece by the British painter and sculptor, Richard Harold Redvers Taylor, called Seville, The Old Quarter 1954.

New to the collection was Ai Weiwei's Cats limited print and Melanie Manchot's The Ladies, the museum said.

The gallery's assistant director, Susie Biller, said everything loaned since 1957 had been returned, adding: "We haven't honestly had any problems... in all of the years we have had the odd delay."

The museum said most pieces were covered by students' contents insurance, with the scheme otherwise operating on trust.

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