The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) welcomed close to 100 art students to the Walkers Art Club this past month. The popular extracurricular art education programme offers students of all ages and abilities weekly art classes to enhance skills and expose students to local and international artists. Participants are instructed by trained arts educators and are encouraged to express themselves, emphasizing creativity and experimentation through age-appropriate projects, themes and skills. The classes and course materials are free to students thanks to the generous support of Walkers.

As part of the National Gallery’s mission to meet the diverse needs of the larger community, the programme includes six clubs; Foundation, Primary, Secondary, Teens, Cayman Brac and Lighthouse Club for students with learning difficulties. Due to the success of the Walkers Art Club programme a new Foundation club has been created this term for students in grades one to three.

“It has been an exciting start to the year for students in the Walkers Art Clubs. Already they have participated in activities such as print-making and life drawing, they have explored the use of positive and negative space, and have collaborated on group drawings. The year is off to an inspired start!” Explains NGCI Intern Jessica Ebanks. This term, students will also explore in depth the National Gallery’s latest exhibition Speak to Me – Understanding the Language of Art as well as works from the National Art Collection with NGCI curators and educators. A variety of materials and techniques will be explored throughout the programme, including watercolour, acrylic, mixed media, clay and cray-pas, as well as various methods in printmaking.

Walkers has kindly supported NGCI for over a decade through community initiatives such as Art@Governors and Chalkfest before shifting focus to arts education programmes for students with a passion for the arts. Managing partner of Walkers’ Cayman office, Antonia Hardy, stated “As the Walkers Art Club embarks on its twelfth year; one of the most rewarding aspects of the programme has been watching students grow from pre-school through to high-school level. This programme enables children from schools throughout the island to interact and make friends whilst gaining a solid foundation in visual arts and going on to achieve great things. It truly is a programme that inspires the next generation of creative thinkers.”

Due to the popularity of the programme spaces are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. If classes are full, students will be placed on a waiting list and accepted into the programme when spaces become available. For more information and assistance please email [email protected] or call (345) 945 8111.

For Walkers Art Club Cayman Brac parents can contact NGCI Sister Islands Officer, Simone Scott directly at (345) 917 7718 or by email at s[email protected].