Nestled between the Botanic Gardens and the River Cam in Cambridge, a newly established artist residency named Armature offers a unique creative haven for emerging artists. Now entering its second season, the residency occupies a large Edwardian arts and crafts house, notable for its discreet location and quiet surroundings.
Armature was founded by Phoebe Forster, a 26-year-old curator and writer. The property originally belonged to her family, who moved from Connecticut to the UK in 2013. Prior to the residency’s launch, the house saw only sporadic use, with Forster envisioning the space as an opportunity to support artists by providing a dedicated environment for exploration and creation. “I’ve always loved hosting,” she said. “This just made it more official.”
The residency selects three artists each season through nominations reviewed by a panel comprising Andrew Nairne, director of the nearby Kettle’s Yard gallery; Edie Jones from Saatchi Yates gallery; and Filippo Antonello, a former resident artist. Participants are granted significant freedom, with no prescribed output or deadlines. Forster emphasizes an intentionally unstructured approach aimed at fostering experimentation and allowing creative processes to unfold naturally over the residency’s duration.
The house’s artistic lineage extends back to its early 20th-century inhabitant, a painter affiliated with the Cambridge Watercolour Society who hosted annual social gatherings in the garden. When Forster’s mother, Tonia, acquired the property, she undertook significant interior renovations, introducing white-painted walls, a Japanese-style garden, and furnishing the rooms with a varied collection of antiques and eclectic items. Though many of these were cleared for the residency, some original elements remain, including artworks by Scottish painter Elizabeth Blackadder and a suzani embroidered textile from Tonia’s family in Cape Town.
Armature’s collection organically grew to include works by local artists such as Christopher Marvell and Issam Kourbaj, the latter’s large metal-bound book now serving as the residency’s guest book. The setting reflects an intimate artistic ecosystem, drawing inspiration from Cambridge’s robust cultural institutions like Kettle’s Yard, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College, as well as newer commercial venues such as Corpus gallery. Forster sees the residency’s eight-week term as aligned with the academic calendar, providing residents a concentrated period of immersion in the city’s artistic life.
Current residents include Leo Arnold, a painter based in Amsterdam whose recent exhibition focused on themes of anxiety and self-reflection. At Armature, Arnold uses the quieter environment to create automatic paintings, emphasizing process over performance. Bogotá-born, Paris-based artist Francisce G Pynzón Saamper occupies an elegant sitting room, developing a range of works from large photographic prints to small watercolors and painted textiles. Meanwhile, London-based artist Zayn Qahtani, originally from Bahrain, works in the upstairs study and bedroom, experimenting with sculptural forms made from pulp derived from date-palm paper. Her work addresses themes of grief, loss, and “secret selves,” often referencing ancient Bahraini worship objects.
The residency fosters a shared creative atmosphere, with the three artists cohabiting the space in what Qahtani describes as a “symbiotic” relationship. Forster acknowledges the challenge of selecting compatible artists but highlights the dynamic energy each brings, transforming the house into a vibrant and inspiring home. Arlington’s artist residency thus stands as an evolving site of artistic dialogue and production within Cambridge’s rich cultural landscape.