Island of Women

Island of Women: Life at Home During our Maritime Years is a tribute to the women who played a vital role in the development of Caymanian society from the 1800s through to the mid-twentieth century as interpreted through the work of 28 Cayman-based artists.

Against the backdrop of our maritime industry, waiting months and sometimes years for the safe return of husbands, brothers, and sons, women provided familial and social stability and helped ensure that the Islands continued to flourish. Their story is one of resilience, adaptive ingenuity, creativity, and technical prowess, often in the most adverse conditions.

Inspired by these women’s contribution through oral histories, handed-down stories, and other archival material, artists were invited to create an artwork, which thematically covered individual and collective health; economic development and the prudent and creative management of local and remitted resources; relationships and the personal and social reverberations of long absence; faith and beliefs, formal and informal; creative expression; and keepers of communal memories. Through a diverse range of mediums, styles, and genres, the body of artwork celebrates a lasting legacy that has helped shape our Islands, bringing a largely untold story to the fore.