As we begin another chapter at NGCI with the start of the new year, we would like to take a moment to reflect on all that has been achieved at the Gallery over the course of 2024.
Over the past 12 months, we have debuted an outstanding 13 exhibitions, both at the main NGCI site and across multiple satellite venues located in Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands. Conceptualized by Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, The Cauling: Where the Past Comes Forward to Greet You kickstarted 2024 with an eclectic assortment of works inspired by Caymanian stories of folklore and spirituality. Following that show, visitors were also treated to Thatch Roofs & Ironwood Posts: The Art and Artistry of the Caymanian Home, Bendel Hydes – Circumnavigating the Globe, Jawara Alleyne – Island Underground, and a new National Collection exhibition titled, Evolutions: Continuity and Change in Caymanian Art. With this latter project, the exhibit showcases 90+ works, 80+ local artists, and several of the Gallery’s newest acquisitions – those of which continue to rotate as newer ones come in.
Across our satellite venues – the Owen Roberts International Airport, the Little Cayman Museum, and the Cayman Brac Beach Resort – we were able to display a number of open-call photography exhibitions, including Days Gone By: Photographs from the Cayman Islands National Archive and Cayman on Camera: Our Story in Photographs. These were further supplemented by Home & Hearth: Architectural Scenes from the National Collection, a travelling exhibition series. Collectively and through varying thematic approaches, these exhibitions successfully celebrated Cayman’s rich cultural tapestry, while shedding light on local artists both established and upcoming.
Supplementing our exhibition schedule, we held numerous related workshops and events in order to encourage the community to engage with and deepen their knowledge on Caymanian culture. These include but aren’t limited to, Late Night Evenings, Open Poetry Nights, Dance Workshops, and Family Fun Days. Notably, we also held two ‘en plein air’ workshop at Nurse Leila’s historic home and at the QEII Botanical Park Heritage Garden in April, welcoming 59 participants.
The multi-faceted nature of NGCI means we are not only focused on exhibiting what Cayman’s art community has to offer today but also on inspiring new generations of Caymanian artists through our Education Department. Throughout 2024, NGCI continued to provide educational tours of our exhibition spaces for schools and educators, hosting several on-site extra-curricular clubs and activities for varying age groups. We also saw the continuation of the popular Walkers Art Club after-school programme, our inclusive weekly classes for students of all ages and abilities. These students are encouraged to fulfil their creative potential with different projects aimed at enhancing their art skills. This year’s efforts culminated in the Walker’s Art Club exhibition in Summer 2024, which showcased 2D, 3D and digital art by students from ages 5 to 17.
As a means to connect with the wider community, we continued to host our outreach programs with the likes of Community Connections, Art Haven, and EY, to name a few. For example, our bi-monthly EY Seniors Tour and Tea programme welcomes seniors from every district to experience a private tour around NGCI’s newest exhibitions, and enjoy complimentary cake, tea and coffee. These non-profit programs are focused on strengthening the artistic, social and personal development of the Cayman community, and this year we were happy to welcome 55+ seniors over the Autumn season.
NGCI has also continued to host its popular annual fundraising events, with the likes of the Big Art Auction 8 (BAA8), and the yearly Tea Party. These fundraising events are essential to supporting the Gallery’s mission to promote local art and creativity. Our Annual Tea Party, which was held on March 08, 2024, welcomed 160+ guests to celebrate and raise funds for NGCI’s Education Programmes. The BAA project is unique in its scope, allowing for a 50/50 split profit between the gallery and the artist, which directly contributes to the growth of the National Collection. This year’s auction featured works from 30+ beloved artists, including Bendel Hydes, Charles Long, Kaitlyn Elphinstone and Teresa Grimes.
With 17,000+ of you coming to visit our exhibition spaces just at the main NGCI site, we can safely say it’s been an eventful and exciting year. We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our sponsors, donors and wider supporters for allowing us to continue promoting the appreciation and practice of the visual arts of and in the Cayman Islands. We look forward to more opportunities to foster growth in the sector and look eagerly towards what’s to come.
Happy New Year!