National Gallery Cross Currents Exhibition Opens at the Little Cayman Museum

An extension of the National Gallery’s (NGCI) Cayman Islands Biennial exhibition, entitled Cross Currents, has opened at the Little Cayman Museum (LCM), as a continuation of the partnership between NGCI, LCM and the Cayman Islands Legacy Fund (CILF). The programme enables NGCI exhibitions to travel regularly from Grand Cayman to venues in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and to continue their commitment to making art and art education as accessible as possible, across all three islands.

Honouring tradition while reinvigorating historical themes, the participants in this year’s Biennial each represent, in their own distinct way, different approaches to the question ‘what is contemporary Caymanian art?’, with the LCM artists specifically addressing environmental and marine themes. Through their innovative use of new media and techniques, as well as their engagement with timely social, political and environmental concerns, the artists in Cross Currents offer a window into contemporary art making on these shores.
The Museum is open from Monday to Thursday 1:30pm – 4pm, Friday 2pm – 5pm, Saturday 10:30am – 12:30pm, and closed Sundays. For appointments outside of the opening hours, please call +1 (345) 925 7625. 
The entrance is free but donations to maintain this non-profit organization are highly appreciated. 

Curator’s Corner

The National Gallery’s Cross Currents project has brought contemporary art to all three islands in the form of an expansive, multi-site exhibition. As part of her contribution to the biennial, artist Paige Jordison was invited to participate in a special satellite exhibition in Little Cayman. Housed in the intimate surroundings of the Little Cayman Museum, itself a treasure trove of historical artifacts relating to the island’s seafaring past, Jordison’s mixed media installation is especially apt. Comprised of an arrangement of floating shelves topped with the skeletal hulls of model-sized catboats, Fleeting (2017) points to the Caymanian tradition of boat building and indeed a local tradition in Little Cayman that persisted well into the 1950s, as recorded in the museum’s permanent displays. Yet on a more personal level, Fleeting references the artist’s own family and their shipbuilding past; its title a play both on the fleet mounted on the wall (the flotilla of inverted vessels) and the fleeting, ephemeral nature of both an industry that has all but disappeared and the individuals and cultural traditions that have likewise vanished into memory. Topped with sand taken from the shoreline nearby (a stone’s throw from Blossom Village’s historic cemetery, where many of the island’s seaman of yesteryear are now interred), the individual boats are almost entirely engulfed; literally and figuratively ‘beached’, the sand pooling into a mound that spills out onto the gallery floor below.

What’s On at the National Gallery

Join the NGCI Education Department for free family fun art activities based on the exhibition Cross Currents. Art activities will be available for children of all ages and self-guided activity booklets can be collected at reception for families to use as they explore.

For more information and to RSVP, contact: http:// [email protected]

As a part of the Education Programmes developed for the Cross Currents Biennial, the National Gallery will also be presenting several Artists Talks through the duration of the exhibition.

Join us for the next in our Artist Talk Series, on 27 March 2019, as the artists give short presentations followed by an informal discussion about the latest happenings in Cayman’s art scene.

Artist Talks will be held on select Wednesdays from 6:00 PM – 7:30PM.

For more dates and information please click here.  

While unfortunately postponed on the original date due to weather, Red Sky At Night is back. Guests can expect an alluring evening of art and culture hosted annually by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, which will now be held on Saturday 23 March 2019.

The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands is proud to show our support of this event by keeping our doors open for a late night at the Gallery.

Our Galleries will be kept open with free admission until 10:00 PM for attendees of the Red Sky At Night Festival.

For more information contact CNCF by clicking here.

Feature Friday#shopping

So Many Beads, So Little Time!

The National Gallery Gift Shop has just received some more fabulous pieces from Bee Line Designs by Gale Tibbetts, but they are selling out fast.

From necklaces to earrings, there are many tempting pieces made from an array of precious stones and caymanite to be had!

Visit us in the Lower Gallery today to get yours before they are all gone.

Gift Shop Hours are:

Mon – Sat 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Get Involved at the Gallery – Become a Member Today!

Are you looking for ways to get involved with the National Gallery?

Become a member of the National Gallery today by visiting us online or stopping by our location off of Esterley Tibbetts Highway.

Don’t forget the wide range of amazing benefits that are available to our members that include:

1) An invitation to members’ preview evenings for each new exhibition.

2) An exclusive invitation to our Members’ Christmas Party.

3) National Gallery electronic newsletters and bulletins (optional).

4) First word on upcoming exhibitions, programming and NGCI National Collection acquisitions.

5) A 10% discount on all continuing education courses at NGCI.

6) A 10% discount in the NGCI Store.

And much more!

Visit our website to renew online, call 945 8111 or email

[email protected].