The National Gallery was honoured to invite the Minister for Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Bernie Bush, and National Gallery Chairperson Mrs. Susan A. Olde, OBE, to present the Cayman Islands Biennial Awards yesterday evening.
Since opening in April, Reimagined Futures has provided audiences with a sampling of the best contemporary work by 41 local artists, displayed not only at NGCI’s central exhibition space but also at several off-site venues across the Cayman Islands. This dispersed, multi-site exhibition model has become commonplace for biennials around the world over the past two decades, and the second iteration of the Cayman Islands Biennial builds on the precedent of its inaugural 2019 edition, Cross Currents, by extending the concept still further—incorporating off-site installations at the historic Mission House in Bodden Town, Owen Roberts International Airport and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic, Park alongside a satellite exhibition at the Little Cayman Museum focusing on environmental issues: a key concern for many of the works in this year’s biennial. In contrast to its predecessor however, the works in Reimagined Futures were selected and organised around a specific thematic framework, or in this case a series of sub-themes, that have helped catalyse the participating artists to engage with timely and topical subject matter—from climate change and environmental sustainability, to questions of social and racial justice, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and community wellness, as well as the wider challenge of how we collectively envision and build a better future.
Now a little over two months on from the biennial’s official opening, artists, guests and exhibition sponsors were reassembled to celebrate the creative talent that we have here in Cayman. Firstly, in the Emerging Artist Award category ‘Certificates of Commendation’ were awarded to: Cameron Bridgeman (Interloper Series, 2021), John Reno Jackson (Untitled, 2021) and Michael Mothen (Price Tag, 2021). The winning ‘Emerging Artist Award’ was presented to Brandon Saunders for his work Helios in the Night (2021), a hauntingly beautiful triptych of digitally-manipulated images that achieve an almost painterly effect. Having recently completed his MFA degree in the United States, Simon Tatum (Sailor Trophy, 2021) took home the Runner Up Award in this category for his sophisticated and well-executed sculptural installation.
In the Bendel Hydes Awards category, ‘Certificates of Commendation’ were presented to Sarah McDougall (Not My Cup of Tea, 2021), Nasaria Suckoo Chollette (Blue-Black, 2021) and Randy Chollette (The New Path, 2021). Jawara Alleyne, in collaboration with Yodea Williams and Justin Jensen, was awarded the Runner Up prize for the performance art installation entitled Descent (2021). The evening’s overall prize – the ‘Bendel Hydes Award’ – was presented to Davin Ebanks for Ground Basket Pair (2021) created from blown and silvered glass. Ebanks’ work has received both critical acclaim and a hugely popular response from social media and members of the public, and this award is another significant achievement as he continues to forge a successful career as a full-time professional artist and professor at Kent State University in Ohio. Along with beautifully crafted awards by Horacio Esteban, the two winning artists in each category receive a monetary prize and the opportunity to develop a solo exhibition at the National Gallery respectively.
The evening closed with the launch of the biennial catalogue: a 120-page publication that was presented to all the participating artists in thanks for their creative efforts and commitment to this momentous project. Catalogues are now on sale in NGCI’s gift shop, with complimentary copies being distributed in due course to local schools and public libraries.
Thanks are extended to the Awards Jury: Carl Brown, Henry Muttoo and Emé Paschalides (Cayman Islands) and international jurors Amanda Coulson (former Director of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas) and O’Neil Lawrence (Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Jamaica); in addition to project supporters Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited, Mrs. Susan A. Olde, OBE, and the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage.
Congratulations to all of the 41 artists participating in the Biennial for their inspiring and thought-provoking work. The Biennial continues until 27 August at the National Gallery, the QEII Botanic Park, Mission House, the Owen Roberts International Airport, and the Little Cayman Museum.
Photo Credit: E. Lennon Christian