The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (“NGCI”) Internship is an established annual programme that is now in its fifteenth year. During this time, we have seen 14 talented Caymanian Interns successfully complete this programme, with a 15th currently underway. Each of these past Interns has come to the National Gallery with a varied set of skills, expectations and aspirations. As an organisation in the business of educating, inspiring and cultivating a passion for the arts, it has been our job to create an internship opportunity for each participant that is relevant and supports their interests and professional direction.
Some, like Kerri-Anne Chisolm (Intern of 2009/10), aspired to go overseas after completing the programme to undertake a bachelor’s degree and build upon her curatorial and museum experience. During her internship placement she undertook a wide variety of duties in areas such as communications, collections management, curatorial and education, but it was the curatorial aspects of the role that inspired her the most, resulting in her selecting this topic for her master’s degree. Since then Kerri-Anne has returned to NGCI to take up the position of Assistant Curator and more recently, Collections Coordinator, and is now exploring Europe in search of new opportunities.
Simon Tatum (our current 2017/18 Intern) decided to do things the other way around, heading to university first before returning to Cayman to take up the internship position and further his artistic career. The first half of his internship was a busy one, during which he split his time across the education and curatorial/collection departments, went on an international placement to Germany and held a solo exhibition of his own work in the National Gallery’s Auditorium. The second half looks to be just as busy with more curatorial duties and responsibilities, interspersed with education in the form of class instruction and school tours. Following the programme Simon has been invited to stay on and take up the position of Assistant Curator – a well-deserved opportunity.
But not all our Interns are artists or future curators, some, like Jessica Ebanks (Intern of 2016/17), are passionate about the education side of art museums. During her final year at university, Jessica researched options for creative careers back home in Cayman and came across the NGCI Internship opportunity. With a goal in sight, Jessica carefully planned and crafted her final year to include modules that would support her application and volunteered as a museum docent to back up her application with some work experience. On completing her internship, Jessica stayed on to take up the position of Education Officer and has recently been promoted to Education Coordinator, all in the space of two years.
Other interns have chosen creative professional fields ranging from graphic designers, filmmakers to art therapists.
What is clear when you look back at the list of past Interns, each of them is unique and so was their internship experience. This highly competitive opportunity can be shaped to fit, but only those who come with a passion to learn and the motivation to take control of their experience will gain the full benefit of what this internship has to offer.
If you would like to be part of this story, the application process for the 2018/19 internship opportunity is open now and will close at 5pm on Monday 30th April 2018.
Further details about the role and how to apply can be found on our job page, here: https://ngcaymanislands.bamboohr.com/jobs/. This is a yearlong internship and applicants must be available to start in August or September 2018.