The Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of grants for the arts, following the Grant Committee’s March 2016 Review. These include the local movie cast of “Tripping Through”; Caribbean Haven’s Music Therapy Programme; the “Singrays” A Cappella group; Martin Keeley for the publication of his book, “Marvellous Mangroves”; and the George Town Primary School PTA for the school’s string ensemble.

“Tripping Through”, a romantic comedy based on the novel of the same name, has been produced and filmed in the Cayman Islands by Malcolm Ellis who doubled as Director and Michelle Morgan who wrote the screenplay and also played the main character, Karly. Malcolm and Michelle were ecstatic to receive funding from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) as this will enable them, among other things, to increase awareness of their project locally as well as to submit their “baby” to international film festivals. When asked if they had encountered any surprises along the long road of production, Michelle responded, “We were constantly amazed by the amount of community interest and support we encountered.” Malcolm added, “There was no initial funding for the film and we wouldn’t have been able to complete it without in-kind support from the Cayman acting and TV/film community as well as local businesses that let us film at their locations. And now with this financial support from CNCF, we’ll be able to maximize our exposure both locally and internationally.”

When asked for a comment, Kimberly Febres, the Residential Counselor at Caribbean Haven explained,”The music therapy programme helps people in recovery express themselves when words alone don’t suffice. Since music is already a significant part of our Caymanian communities, using this medium in the therapeutic and healing process supports the clients’ personal growth in a creative way. On behalf of the Department of Counseling Services at Caribbean Haven, we extend our sincere appreciation to CNCf for this grant. These funds will allow our facility to continue offering innovative treatment programming to our clients.”

The “Singrays” are a local acappella group who enjoys singing a diverse variety of music from classical to jazz to modern. “Singrays” perform to entertain a diverse audience and to support local charitable causes. Accordingly, “Singrays” share the goals and values of CNCF and are keen to join with them in promoting the arts in the Cayman Islands. Nicholas Dixey, a founding member, stated, “The Singrays extend our sincere thanks to the Foundation for their generous grant. These funds will allow us to obtain sound equipment and to perform at new venues where we can reach more of the community with music.”

For the past 17 years Martin Keeley has been travelling to many different countries to deliver the “Marvellous Mangroves” Education Programme to teachers and students. The programme has been translated and adapted for 13 countries worldwide and each country has its own myths and legends about mangrove spirits and gods. Martin has been collecting these stories for years and says, “Now, thanks to this grant from CNCF, I will be able to publish the “Marvellous Mangroves” book.”
The stories will be illustrated by a young Cayman Brac student, Daniella Christian, and will be available both locally and internationally through the Mangrove Action Project of which Martin Keeley is the Education Director.

Mrs. Cheyenna Stewart, President of the George Town Primary School Parents Teachers Association, expressed their gratitude to CNCF for a grant for the school’s string ensemble. “We appreciate CNCF’s continued support of the performing arts at GTPS over the years and this grant will further the success of the students in the String Ensemble Programmme.” The GTPS Performing Arts Centre will be built at the school during the 2016 summer break. The Centre will become home to the String Ensemble and also be used to further the other performing arts, a very important part of the CI National Curriculum. Any members of the public, corporate or private, who would like to support the school’s commitment to the performing arts, be it financially or otherwise, may contact the PTA at [email protected] or at 939-8282.
NEED A GRANT FOR AN ARTS PROJECT?
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The CNCF Grants Committee is now accepting applications for grants for the arts, which will be announced in September 2016. The deadline for submission is Friday, 15 July 2016.

Grants are for individuals who are resident in the Cayman Islands and have been resident for the preceding twelve months, and for arts groups operating in the Cayman Islands. Grants for individuals range from $250 to $1,000. Grants to arts groups range from $500 to $3,000.

Grants are awarded for non commercial arts-related activities running for a limited time, such as the following:

Projects and events
Commissions and productions
Research and development
Activities for people to take part in
Educational activities
Professional development and training
Organisational development to improve the long-term stability of arts organisations
Touring. (Touring activity might involve performances or exhibitions, artistic residences, artistic work involving people from particular communities, or possibly all of these things.)
Any combination of the above.

To download an application form please click on the link below:

Grants for the Arts Guidelines and Application Form

If you cannot apply online, you may pick up a copy of the Guidelines and Application Form at: The CNCF Office, 17 Harquail Drive, Phone: (345) 949-5477 or email [email protected]