On Friday, 15 December, the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Heritage in collaboration with the Cayman Islands National Museum (CINM) marked a significant milestone with the official opening of the Cayman Collections Centre. The Cayman Collections Centre, housed in the former Cayman Motor Museum, aims to bring attention to Cayman’s unique cultural heritage by rotating the nearly 12,000 artifacts within the CINM collection. This exciting initiative underscores the Ministry’s commitment to one of its key priorities, “Awareness and Preservation of Culture & Heritage.”

The opening of the Cayman Collections Centre was attended by Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs. Jane Owen and government officials including the Minister for Youth, Sports & Heritage, Hon. Isaac Rankine as well as Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry, Mr. Bernie Bush both of whom shared their vision for the Centre during their remarks. The event featured entertainment from the John Gray High School String Ensemble, Cayman Islands Folk Singers who performed Caymanian traditional songs and dance performances from Dream Chasers. Those in attendance got to enjoy Fried Fish and Fritters and Swanky.

The Centre’s exhibit is an enlightening experience designed to foster a deeper sense of identity, unity, belonging and connection to our Caymanian heritage. Presently, visitors can expect to see catboats, a hand-dug out canoe, paintings and other items that reflect Cayman’s diverse history.

Minister for Youth, Sports & Heritage, Hon. Isaac Rankine, shared, “I am extremely proud to see the Cayman Islands National Museum expanding and offering more opportunities for Cayman’s history and heritage to be on display and for the community to learn more about the unique and vibrant story of the Cayman Islands.”
He continued, “I would like to thank the staff of the Cayman Islands National Museum and the Ministry for working so diligently in curating this exhibit. I would like also like to thank the former Minister Mr. Bernie Bush for laying the foundation for this important endeavour and for his support in ensuring the people of the Cayman Islands have access to these artifacts.”

CINM Acting Director, Tunisia Barnes expressed her gratitude to the Ministry, “We are grateful to the Ministry for their help in securing this facility. Many of the artifacts have been in storage for quite some time and we excited to be able to put them on display for the public to enjoy. We invite the public to visit us here and learn more about Cayman’s heritage.  

Persons can visit the Cayman Collections Centre for free during the holiday season. Holiday opening hours can be found on the Cayman Collections Centre Instagram and Facebook pages. Starting in January 2024, regular opening hours will be Monday – Friday 10a.m. – 4p.m. and on Saturdays 10a.m. – 2p.m.