Throughout Honouring
Women Month, the National Gallery’s “Island of Women” programme
of events encourages wider conversations around women’s
contemporary and historical contributions to society.

The National Gallery of the Cayman
Islands unveiled their latest temporary exhibition, Island of
Women, on 7 February 2020 through the generous support of lead
project partner, Butterfield.

The exhibition examines the vital role
women played in Caymanian society from the 1800s to the mid-20th
century as seen through the interpretive lens of 26 Cayman-based
artists. These artists have taken inspiration from extensive archival
research, oral histories, family stories and historical objects to
produce work that ranges from traditional craft, to illustrative
painting, video and installation work. Coinciding with Honouring
Women Month and International Women’s Day in March, the exhibition
is open through 28 May.

Supporting
the exhibition is a complementary programme of events developed in
partnership with community organisations and female leaders. The
programme aims to extend the conversation around women’s historical
and contemporary contributions to society through a lineup of
workshops, panels and lectures, family activities, and educational
materials. Programme partners include Lucille Seymour, Anita Ebanks,
Mary Lawrence, Arthurlyn Pedley, Karlene Bramwell, Tammy Ebanks,
Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing, Gender Affairs
Unit, Cayman Islands National Archive, Cayman Islands National
Museum, the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands
Seafarers Association, 100 Women in Finance, the Cayman Islands
Business and Professional Women’s Club, Gender Equality Cayman,
Cayman Enterprise City, and the Women’s International Shipping and
Trading Association.

“At
the National Gallery, our mission is to foster creative learning
opportunities for our wider community and to create a platform for
dialogue around current issues,” says Maia Muttoo, NGCI Senior
Education Coordinator. “Through this programme of events, we are
able to support our diverse audience as they interpret Island of
Women, engage in meaningful conversations on its themes, and
apply these themes to our contemporary context - particularly
relevant as we observe Honouring Women Month and International
Women’s Day in March.”

The
programme of events officially began on 21 February with Educators’
Social, a quarterly event that provides resources and support for
local teachers via guided curator tours, art workshops and teaching
resources for instructors working with children on art and culture.
This was followed by a panel discussion, the first in a series,
entitled Married to the Sea: Voices of Seafarers’ Spouses,
where Nettie Rivers and Mickey Anderson shared their personal stories
of separation and industriousness with moderator Arthurlyn Pedley and
a captive audience.

Upcoming
events for March include a screening of the documentary Her Story
Is Our History: The Women’s

Suffrage
Movement in the Cayman Islands (04 March) introduced by Tammy
Ebanks, Policy Analyst from the Cabinet Office Policy Coordination
Unit and former Senior Policy Officer for Gender Affairs, Cayman
Islands Government. This will be followed by a Family Fun Day (14
March), a Gender Equality Cayman Workshop: Confronting Gender
Stereotypes (18 March), an EY Seniors Tea Party and Exhibition Tour
(20 March), and an Artist Talks lecture (25 March). Events will
continue throughout the exhibition’s duration with panel
discussions exploring women in business, technology, politics and
maritime industries in April and May. Special lectures on Island
of Women will also be hosted in Cayman Brac (11 March) and Little
Cayman (March date to be confirmed).

The exhibition runs until 28 May and admission to the exhibition and related programmes is free due to the generous support of Butterfield. For a full list of all workshops, lectures and events running throughout the exhibition please visit https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/whats-on/ and to participate in the related school programme or book a tour, please email Maia Muttoo at education@nationalgallery.org.ky.

*****

About the National Gallery of the Cayman
Islands

Established
in 1996, the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) is the
country’s leading visual arts museum and education centre, charged
with promoting and encouraging the appreciation and practice of the
visual arts in the Cayman Islands. This mission is achieved through
exhibitions, education/outreach programmes, school tours, community
festivals, and ongoing research projects. Holding up to six
exhibitions annually at our central exhibition space, and satellite
venues around Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands, the curatorial
team strives to create a balance between exhibitions of quality
Caymanian artwork with art from further afield. This is achieved by
working with a broad cross-section of artists and ranging from
site-specific work to more traditional gallery-based projects.

NGCI
is at the forefront of visual arts education in the Cayman Islands
hosting 25+ education and outreach programmes monthly, across all
three islands. These programmes aim to capture every age group in our
community from the youngest pre-schoolers to senior citizens, in
addition to marginalized members of our community. They combine arts
education with enriching creative experiences which foster
creativity, help build self-esteem, and provide effective and
invaluable explorations of culture, cultural heritage, national
identity and community values.