The National Gallery Presents Caymanian Artists at Carifesta XV

The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands is proud to join the wider Cayman Islands contingent to Carifesta XV to present the work of four leading Caymanian artists for the Carifesta regional exhibition, Caribbean Roots, Global Excellence, titled after the wider theme of this year’s festival.

The exhibition, which opened at the Norman Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday 23 August, features contemporary artists from across the Caribbean who were selected via a Barbados-based jury. The artists were invited to respond to the region’s dynamic history in various media ranging from contemporary works in a digital format, to more traditional approaches inclusive of repurposed materials from their home environments.

The jury selected Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, Davin Ebanks, John Reno Jackson, and Simon Tatum to represent the Cayman Islands. Suckoo Chollette has three mixed media works from her popular ‘Alchemy’ series (2022-2025), which explores material histories by activating the emotional and symbolic resonance of everyday objects. Ebanks is represented through his award-winning work ‘Ground Basket’ (subtitle: “Drunk with Rum/Feasting on a Strange Cassava/Yielding to New Words and a Weak Palabra/Of a White-Faced Sardonic God…”), (2021), which recreates a Caymanian ground basket in glass to comment on the fragility of cultural heritage.  Jackson is represented via two of his early acrylic paintings from the National Gallery Collection titled ‘Monkeys’ (2018) and ‘Mikayla’ (2019) respectively, which are part of a wider exploration into the emotional dimension of portraiture via the juxtaposition of traditional media (oil and acrylic paint) with more recent forms of digital technology. Tatum is represented via two recent works, ‘Colonial Debris – Shanty Town’ (2023) and ‘First Home Savings & Loan’ (2022), both of which explore the psychological and material legacies of colonialism within a Caribbean context. 

Following the installation and opening of the exhibition, National Gallery representatives Meegan Ebanks and Maia Muttoo, who are part of the wider Cayman Islands cohort currently in Barbados, also had the opportunity to participate in the art symposium ‘The Cultural Landscape 25 Years On: Where to Next? – A Conversation’, jointly presented by AICA Southern Caribbean and the Barbados National Art Gallery. The event, which was hosted by the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, brought together curators, art critics, researchers, and arts practitioners from across the region and wider diaspora to discuss critical issues facing Caribbean art. NGCI’s Maia Muttoo joined Dr Veerle Poupeye from the Cayman Islands National Museum and Barbados Museum and Historical Society’s Director Alissandra Cummins to discuss the role of national galleries in the Caribbean, their relationship to other arts institutions and art spaces, and the contribution of art writing and public dialogue to the growth of our cultural landscape.

“On behalf of our team and the four participating artists, we extend sincere thanks to the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage for making our participation in Carifesta XV possible,” said National Gallery Director, Natalie Urquhart. “We are really delighted to have had the opportunity to work with the Carifesta exhibition team to travel the work of these four leading Caymanian artists to Carifesta XV, and to ensure that Cayman is participating in regional discussions about contemporary Caribbean Art. While on the ground in Barbados we will also be engaging in institutional and art studio visits to reinforce existing National Gallery partnerships and to explore opportunities for future creative collaborations.”

To view the full group of Caymanian artwork currently featured in the “Caribbean Roots, Global Excellence” exhibition, visit https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/blog/ .