Blog post by: Romilly Miller, NGCI Summer Work Experience Student
When people talk about working in the field of art, they talk about how poor you are going to be. How you will be working out of your apartment living room, or how the only meals you will eat will be the fast-food discount menu stuff. However, when actually working in the field of art, very little of this is true. Of course, this does not ring true for every circumstance, but in most cases people do not take into consideration how many fields of work are affected by art. There are jobs beyond those who actually create the pieces, and since working at The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, I have come to know these positions better.
When I first started working at NGCI, I was put to work taking apart and putting together a temporary exhibition for two of the local schools. The experience was astoundingly informative, as I got to learn about the finer details of curation from experienced members of staff here. The way that we were able to completely transform the space to fit the needs of each individual group was remarkable, and reminded me of times I had worked as a stage hand for plays. Many people do not realize that the way you present your art is as important as the art itself. Poor presentation of fine art can lead to damage, and thus curators go to school to learn not just how to present art, but also how to preserve it. At NGCI, the preservation for local art and culture for future generations is the main goal.
Future generations learn about art in other ways though, and with NGCI’s colorful Education Department kids can get a hands on experience of the practical side of art. Whilst working at NGCI, I was privileged enough to engage in not just tours, but also the Kids Watercolor Club that ran throughout the summer. The classroom extended beyond the practical, when I was presented with the opportunity to teach the children about our amazing heritage. We pass down our heritage in art as a new form of communication, where the message is up for interpretation, and engages each individual in a new and spectacular way. To see this in the kids that I worked with was truly and experience to behold.
Of course though, the experiences were not just for the children, and whilst I was working at NGCI, I got to help with many different events, including: birthday parties; exhibition openings; stylishly simple girl’s nights; and so much more! Each event was individual, classy and full of the life that art brings out of people, with everyone engaging with the pieces and each other. In those moments, you can really see a meaning behind a gallery, when so many people from every walk of life come to appreciate something made by another.
My experience working at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands may have been short, but it has left me with momentous memories, and many friendly faces I cannot wait to visit again at the next opening of an exhibition. Art had already been such a major slice of my life, and now I know that no matter who I become, art will still be a part of my life, and a part of the world I live in. The only question now is, when will you make it a part of your life? Come and visit the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands today.