Those of us that are fortunate enough to live in Cayman know all about the glorious beaches, built-for-Instagram sunsets and cocktails of varying levels of potency: the secret appears to be out, with stayover tourism increasing year on year.  What locals also know however is that it is essential to escape the midday sun from time to time and the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) is a perfect place to while away a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day whether you’re on vacation or your lunch break.

To help nudge visitors in the right direction NGCI is excited to partner with the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) for the Art at the Airport initiative, which has been developed by NGCI to celebrate the reopening of the newly redeveloped Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA).  New arrivals and those heading to departures will be able to view various pieces from the National Gallery’s permanent collection and past exhibitions, including artwork by nationally-recognised, award-winning artists and artisans, at various locations throughout the airport, allowing passengers to pick up a little slice of Caymanian culture along with their baggage.

NGCI Director Natalie Urquhart explains “The new airport facility is now a world-class gateway for passengers to the Cayman Islands and our project is designed to further enrich the airport experience by providing visitors from around the world access to Cayman’s unique cultural life in a wide variety of visual art forms”. Through excerpts of past National Gallery exhibitions, we have sought to explore key areas of Cayman’s visual heritage – maritime history, traditional thatch craft, architecture, and archival photography, as well as contemporary visual art.”

The works on display are excerpts from the following past NGCI exhibitions:

Now & Then by Courtney Platt (Baggage Claim area- coming soon).  The popular photography series, which was developed by NGCI, the Cayman Islands National Archive and the artist in 2012, shows the Cayman Islands of the 1950s. The images merge scenes of the past with scenes of the present side by side, and together they form a fascinating tapestry of an evolving society and industry.

Cayman Panorama – Things That Exist Only in My Fading Memory by Shane ‘Dready’ Aquart is a 105-foot-long survey of iconic Caymanian buildings that has been installed in the mezzanine level of the Great Hall. The vibrant images capture Cayman’s landmark architecture in Dready’s signature style with pops of vibrant colour, simplicity of style, irreverent humour and playful commentary. The popular series “wrapped” the NGCI’s Dart Auditorium Gallery in 2013.

Maritime Art from the National Collection, which is on display in the Greeting Hall, is an exhibition of reproductions of artwork from the National Collection. This has been developed specifically for the unveiling of the new airport to honour Cayman’s intrinsic relationship with the ocean.  Featured artists include Wray Banker, Gladwyn ‘Miss Lassie’ Bush, Randy Chollette, Chris Christian, Al Ebanks, Bendel Hydes, Charles Long, Miguel Powery, Brandon Saunders, Joanne Sibley, Gordon Solomon, Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, Simon Tatum and Janet Walker.

REVIVE – Caymanian Craft, an exhibition developed by the National Gallery in 2017, showcases samples of Cayman’s long craft traditions.  Works by celebrated craftpersons such as Marlena Anglin, Carmen Connolly, Annalee Ebanks, Annie Joy Ebanks, Deal Ebanks, Rosemay Ebanks, Horacio Esteban and Lizzie Powell sit side by side with contemporary craft makers and designers Isy B, Virginia Foster, Simon Tatum, and Kathryn Elphinstone to illustrate the ways in which local craft continues to evolve. These works are presented in cabinets in the Great Hall.

Coral Tiles, the final exhibition features a single large format public artwork by Kaitlyn Elphinstone, who is one of 42 artists currently on display in the National Gallery’s Cayman Islands Biennial exhibition. Entitled Coral Tiles (Contemporary Anthropocentric Tile Design) (2019), the digital collage is created from a combination of coral patterns and fretwork designs and comments on our intricate relationship with our surrounding landscapes. It was the only multi-site public art project submitted for the Biennial and it can be experienced in the Great Hall, the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, the Little Cayman Museum, and at the following venues in Cayman Brac from April 2019: Charles Kirkconnell International Airport, Panama Canal Boat Launch, The Market Place and Brac Scuba Shack.

With so many talented artists and snapshots from some of the best NGCI exhibitions, be sure you get to the airport a little early and take in the some of what the Cayman contemporary art scene has to offer. Many of the artists are also currently on display in the National Gallery’s Cayman Islands Biennial exhibition (closing 6 June 2019), so if you like what you see we hope to see you at the National Gallery very soon.

Photo credits: Emé Paschalides and Simon Tatum

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