The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) are proud to collaborate on a new exhibition which has been curated by Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, featuring works created during her Artist-in-Residency (AIR) programme with CNCF, along with other invited local artists. Following the official pilot of CNCF’s AIR programme in 2023, Ms Suckoo Chollette has gathered together a body of work – inspired by her research – that seeks to explore and celebrate Cayman’s rich history of folklore and community storytelling. Featuring many works that were produced by Nasaria and a number of collaborators including the ‘Friends and Needles’ Sewing Group during the residency, The Cauling primarily explores “Duppy” stories, a term commonly used to refer to a ghost figure in Caribbean folklore, as well as the spiritual elements that have been associated with childbirth for generations of Caymanians.
Featuring over 30 artworks from over 20 different Caymanian artists, The Cauling runs 01 March to 12 July in the National Gallery’s Dart Auditorium Community Gallery. This exhibition is one of several ways that CNCF and NGCI are collaborating on a series of exhibition projects that engage with Cayman’s culture and heritage, having also worked together recently on the exhibitions Cayman Visionary, and Miss Lassie: An Intuitive Spirit from 2023.
Using a play on words to reference tales of Caul births and the subsequent spiritual elements of childbirth in the Cayman Islands, The Cauling features pieces from a wide array of interactive media and displays work from fellow local artists Brian Watler Jr, Camille Angel, Katelyn Bush, Ethan Jeffers, Carol Terry, Rhonda Edie, Michael Mothen, King Navassa, Khalare Hylton, Melisha McField, Shane Aquârt, Iain MacRae, Gabrielle Wheaton, Carol Bennett, Randy Chollette, Wray Banker, Elias Lopez, Lorna Reid, Martina Jackson, and the Friend’s and Needles community sewing group.
The Cauling is now open to the public and admission to the Gallery and the exhibition is free. Opening times are Monday to Saturday 10:00am – 5:00pm. For more information about the exhibition and the related programme of free events, lectures, workshops and tours please email NGCI Education Manager Maia Muttoo at education@nationalgallery.org.ky, or visit Whats On. For more information about CNCF’s Artist in Residence programme please email education@artscayman.org.
About Exhibition Curator: Nasaria Suckoo Chollette
A celebrated multidisciplinary artist for several decades, Nasaria Suckoo Chollette has served as a cultural keystone in the development and nurturing of Caymanian art for her entire career. Also a practicing poet and actor as well as visual artist, Nasaria is the recipient of several cultural awards, including a Gold Star for Creativity from CNCF in 2021, and the Bendel Hydes Award at NGCI’s inaugural biennial exhibition in 2019, for her piece Becoming Again.
Nasaria has dedicated her career to exploring themes of feminism, decolonisation, and the impact of slavery and racism in the Cayman Islands, having most recently served as a moderator at CNCF’s 2024 production Echoes of the Past in honour of Black History Month. She has featured in many national and international exhibitions, including a mid-career survey with NGCI in 2022, titled All the Coals We Left in the Fire.
About the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
Established in 1997, the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) is the country’s leading visual arts museum and education centre, charged with promoting and encouraging the appreciation and practice of the visual arts in the Cayman Islands. This mission is achieved through exhibitions, education/outreach programmes, school tours, community festivals, and ongoing research projects. Holding up to six exhibitions annually at our central exhibition space, and satellite venues around Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands, the curatorial team strives to create a balance between exhibitions of quality Caymanian artwork with art from further afield. This is achieved by working with a broad cross-section of artists and ranging from site-specific work to more traditional gallery-based projects.
NGCI is at the forefront of visual arts education in the Cayman Islands hosting 25+ education and outreach programmes monthly, across all three islands. These programmes aim to capture every age group in our community from the youngest pre-schoolers to senior citizens, in addition to marginalized members of our community. They combine arts education with enriching creative experiences which foster creativity, help build self-esteem, and provide effective and invaluable explorations of culture, cultural heritage, national identity and community values.
About the Cayman National Cultural Foundation
Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) is leading cultural management organization charged with developing the arts and preserving Cayman’s cultural heritage. This work is achieved through cultural festivals, producing and assisting others with shows at the National Theatre, artistic development, youth arts, research and publishing, and special projects. CNCF’s core outputs are funded in part by the Cayman Islands Government. CNCF’s activities cover the full scope of artistic disciplines: Theatre, Dance, Music, Visual, Literary and Traditional Arts.
CNCF owns the Gladwyn K. Bush (Miss Lassie) Collection of art, which consists of more than 100 original paintings, and owns and manages the cultural heritage site that is ‘MIND’S EYE, The Visionary World of Gladwyn K. Bush’, also known as “Miss Lassie’s House”. CNCF presents the annual National Arts and Culture Awards, which recognise artistic and creative work that is of high-quality. These awards also recognise consistent and active, quality engagement in the preservation and/or celebration of Caymanian cultural heritage.