40 Years of Women online exhibition
40 Years of Women online exhibition
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the admission of the first women at Downing in 1980, the College Archivist collected the memories of more than fifty former students and Fellows from those important first few years. Thank you to all those who shared their memories and photographs of their time at Downing.
Extracts from some of the interviews and questionnaires are reproduced in the exhibition below.
Download the 40 Years of Women exhibition PDF here.
Due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, the exhibition in the College Library was sadly not possible, but we hope to welcome visitors back for archive exhibitions in 2021.
The Heong Gallery: 40 Women for Downing
2 October 2020 - 16 May 2021 Quentin Blake's imaginary portraits of female students to mark each year of 40 years of women at Downing College.
“Downing was a poor college with big ambitions. We may have had a falling-down boat house and famously some of the worst food in Cambridge, but the College spirit was strong and none of that ever stopped us.”
Female student (1980)
All Downing Alumni
Throughout 2020, Downing's Alumni and Development team celebrated Downing women past, present and future through a series of virtual events, activities and communications. You can find out more - including a brief timeline and 'Hidden Histories' of early women at Downing - at the link below.