Cayman artwork arrives at the airport

| 28/03/2019
CNS Local Life
Artwork from the Maritime Art exhibition (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

(CNS Local Life): The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) has donated artwork from its permanent collection to display throughout Owens Roberts International Airport (ORIA) to celebrate the reopening of the redeveloped facility. The gallery developed the “Art at the Airport” initiative, which is being implemented in partnership with the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA).

“Art at the Airport” precedes the launch of a formal ORIA Public Art programme, which is currently being developed by the partners, the gallery said in a press release. In addition to contributions from the permanent collection, the inaugural displays, located in several areas of the airport, are drawn from past exhibitions and includes artwork by nationally-recognised, award-winning artists and artisans.

CNS Local Life
Shane ‘Dready’ Aquart’s “Cayman Panaroma” on display (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

“The new airport facility is now a world-class gateway for passengers to the Cayman Islands and our project is designed to further enrich the airport experience by providing visitors from around the world access to Cayman’s unique cultural life in a wide variety of visual art forms,” said NGCI Director Natalie Urquhart.

“Through excerpts of past National Gallery exhibitions, we have sought to explore key areas of Cayman’s visual heritage – maritime history, traditional thatch craft, architecture, and archival photography, as well as contemporary visual art. We hope to inspire visitors and engage them with our unique culture during their time in Cayman.”

The excerpts comprise work from “Now & Then” by photographer Courtney Platt, in the baggage claim area; “Maritime Art from the National Collection”, in the greeting hall; “Cayman Panorama – Things That Exist Only in My Fading Memory” by Shane ‘Dready’ Aquart, a 105-foot-long survey of iconic Caymanian buildings, has been installed in the mezzanine level of the Great Hall; “REVIVE – Caymanian Craft”, an exhibition developed by the gallery in 2017, showcases samples of Cayman’s long craft traditions, in cabinets in the Great Hall; and “Coral Tiles (Contemporary Anthropocentric Tile Design) (2019)”, also in the Great Hall, a single large-format digital collage by Kaitlyn Elphinstone, one of 42 artists on display in the National Gallery’s “Cayman Islands Biennial” exhibition.

CNS Local Life
“Coral Tiles” by Kaitlyn Elphinstone wraps the two-storey elevator shaft (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

NGCI special project manager Emerentienne Paschalides is coordinating the project with Urquhart and the gallery’s curatorial team. Speaking to the selection process, she noted, “With the strong belief that public art reflects and reveals our society, we have selected a broad range of important key artworks, both traditional and contemporary, from representational to abstract styles and in a variety of genres and media, while remaining consistent with an overall theme.

“Seen collectively, these works begin to tell the story of our Islands’ unique art history from past to present. It is the start of what we hope will be a long and creative collaboration with the airport that will provide multiple opportunities for artists moving forward.”

This initial showcase will be on display for several months while the formal ORIA Public Art Programme is developed and launched.

CIAA CEO Albert Anderson said the authority was pleased to partner with the National Gallery to bring “local art to life at the airport to help enrich the experience of the travelling public.

“This series, ‘Art at the Airport’, plays a special part in the grand opening of the newly redeveloped ORIA and sets the stage for a wider visual arts initiative that is being developed at the airport to feature both rotating exhibitions and permanent public art projects by some of the Islands’ most acclaimed creators.”

For more information, email info@nationalgallery.org.ky or go to the Gallery’s website

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Category: Arts, Local News, Visual Arts

Comments (3)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Doss meat advertisement belongs there?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Art work to be proud of. Boring display of art work to be grossly ashamed of!!