Cayman Connection promotes ‘Culture Club’
(CNS Local Life): A group of Caymanians and Cayman students in the UK visited the British Museum in London on a VIP tour organised by Cayman Connection UK (CCUK) and hosted by the Cayman Government Office in the UK. The visitors were given the opportunity to explore behind-the-scenes collections of items relating to the Cayman Islands.
The tour, part of CCUK’s ‘Culture Club’, focussed on the history of currency and identity and explored how Cayman’s currency showcases the identity of the country and its people through history, stated a CCUK press release.
The group was taken on a private Cayman tour of the Money Gallery, which displays the history of money around the world, from the earliest evidence to the latest developments in digital technology, showcasing how money can be used as a way to understand the history of the world, the identity of countries and how they choose to design their currencies.
Kayte McSweeney, head of community partnerships for the museum, led the tour and encouraged the group to think about identity and the history of Caymanian currency during the visit.
The group was then taken to a private session with the British Museum’s Modern Money curator Thomas Hockenhull, who presented money collections including historic notes and coins from the region for discussion.
Hockenhull said in the press release, “These partnerships are particularly important for the British Museum as we are able to focus on our collections, review any gaps we have and ask communities for further insight into those collections.
“When we were contacted by CCUK I was able to review our Cayman collection and have since ordered more historic bank notes to complete the collection. I have also further researched how we can continue to improve our collections.”
Kate Kandiah, co-founder of CCUK, added, “It is fascinating to see how Cayman is presented in cultural institutions in the UK and we find that more often than not these institutions welcome our input to their collections. This is the start of what we are calling our ‘CCUK cultural rampage’ around the UK, to discover how the Cayman Islands is being presented in museums across the country.
“These partnerships with museums and institutions are invaluable to us to get an insider view into behind-the-scenes collections, and we are very grateful to the British Museum for taking the time to show us their Cayman artefacts and for their enthusiasm talking to us about our views.”
Upcoming cultural tours being organised by CCUK include the Houses of Parliament and the Zoological Museum. Other events coming up include a Cayman-themed pub quiz in April and annual reception in August in Cayman at the Government House.
Anyone interested in Cayman history and culture who is living in the UK may join the CCUK Culture Club by signing up at the CCUK website
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