LOVE LOCAL
Artist Anna Cowie finds creative inspiration in the city she calls home, after moving to the UK from New Zealand
The place that means the most to me is the River Cam. I’m a New Zealander, so I grew up with water and really missed that sense of space and freedom after moving to the UK. Wild swimming in the Cam gave some of that back to me. It’s somewhere I swim, think, make work and feel at home. One of my most magical Cambridgeshire moments was taking my son to the family day at Secret Garden Party. At dusk, tucked away in the woods, there were old pianos beneath the trees and children gathering around them, playing and making music. It felt like childhood, art and music had all collided in the middle of a forest. I also have to mention seeing The Psychedelic Furs at Cambridge Junction. Hearing Pretty in Pink live took me straight back to my teenage years in New Zealand. When people ask me for local recommendations, I always point them to the Graduate hotel. The bar has become
I’ve lived in Cambridge for five years, after more than 20 years in London. I’m originally from New Zealand, where I studied fine art at Elam in Auckland, so landscape, water and a sense of place have always been important to me. I came here with my son and somehow put down roots, building my art practice and Kurt Louis Studios here. I’ve since represented Cambridge through its cultural exchange with Szeged in Hungary, so this city has become both a home and part of my creative story. I love Cambridge because it has this extraordinary collision of history, ideas, art, nature and slightly eccentric people. You can be surrounded by centuries-old architecture and, ten minutes later, be swimming down the River Cam. The architecture has found its way into my drawings and paintings, while the river inspired my Love River Swims series, exploring women, water, freedom and belonging.
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a bit of a second home. Strangely, it reminds me of my grandmother’s house in New Zealand, particularly her living room and deck overlooking the bay. I love that you can go there dressed up and feel glamorous, or arrive straight from a river swim with messy hair and feel equally at home. It’s luxurious without being precious; a come-as-you-are kind of place. One thing I’ve never done here, but plan to, is my master’s. It’s a big one, but I’ve been thinking about studying theology. Maybe that’s part of the reason I ended up in Cambridge. I’m putting it out there now so that my future self has something to aim towards.
Cambridge has this extraordinary collision of history, ideas, art, nature and slightly eccentric people
98 NOVEMBER 2026 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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