For me a July, in the ‘old normal’ sense, meant a feast of cultural activities: the Proms, the Shakespeare Festival and the month-long Open Studios which has a uniquely Cambridge feel to it. This year, its 45th, with social distancing, local artists are not allowed to throw open their garrets nor are we allowed to nosey around their nooks and crannies.

I have long loved the open studios concept: the serendipitous discovery that down some familiar suburban close or cosy cul-de-sac lies a treasure house of newly-minted artworks – a watercolourist in the Avenue, a weaver in the Way, or a potter in the Place, a block printer round the block. A few years ago just down the road from ours, I had my own Howard Carter moment discovering a hoard of colourful treasures - I stumbled across the work of the ceramicist Katarina Klug and avoided the avoidance of temptation by carrying away one of her exquisite vases (the British Museum will never get its hands on this).

Now alas, Open Studios are closed tight shut. But 140 local artists signed up for the weekendly showings are not to be put off. They have come up with a new concept: ‘Open Windows’. Seek a yellow banner and there you shall find a window or two festooned with gorgeous art. Looking in at a stranger’s window is positively encouraged (perhaps a Turner Prize happening in its own right?). Peeping Toms are most welcome. My own adventure into the city’s glazial art displays began down Mill Road where a cluster of Open Windows are on display. Gwydir, Sturton and Norfolk streets each have a fair share of offerings in their front windows. It is as though stained glass has replaced see-through glazing (not a bad idea in this somewhat drab Covid world).

In Gwydir Street I enjoyed seeing the work of Rosemary Catling; humorous takes on her personal love of swimming (a metaphor for a state of not drowning perhaps?). Bang next door are the front windows of Nathan Huxtable a Scottish artist working and living here. His fascinating acrylics make one long to see more. On my way home I strolled down Cowper Road to spy new work by Karen Stamper. Her colourful collages have in past Open Studio years found their way into our home.

A map of where to find the adorned window displays can be found on the studios’ website where you are cordially invited to ‘create your very own art treasure hunt’. The online map though a little user unfriendly (its plethora of red dots marking the said windows makes Cambridge look like it has a dose of measles), the visual impact on the city is impressive. There are also separate dotted maps for Histon, Ely and the borders of Cambridge itself. To misquote Coleridge: ‘no plot so small, be but artwork there’. The site also has a funky short video which shows how the artists have filled their windows in a Covid compatible way. The narrator says that ‘art is so good for the soul and creativity uplifts us all’. This is so true.

New work seen online or in window frames can only give us a glimpse of the true nature of art. For the time being one can only gaze the glaze as we await for a return to poking around in private parlours or touching a textile in some artist’s bedroom. Roll back the ‘old normal’.

Cambridge Open Windows will be on show each weekend to the end of the month.

https://www.camopenstudios.co.uk/open-windows