The National Gallery’s latest exhibition, The People’s Collection, opened in NGCI’s Lower Exhibition Hall on 27 January 2022, with esteemed guests including Hon. Bernie Bush, Minister for Youth, Sport, Culture and Heritage in attendance. Celebrating 25 years since the founding of the National Gallery in 1997, the exhibition explores the evolution of NGCI’s permanent collection over the past quarter-century. Acknowledging the significant efforts of Gallery staff and supporters who have helped care for and steward its growth, the exhibition tells the story of how the National Collection came into being, and the journey that has since led to it becoming a much-loved fixture of the Caymanian cultural landscape.
Looking back to the inauguration of the National Gallery’s purpose-built facility in January 2012, the opening of The People’s Collection also highlights the impact this relocation has had in facilitating NGCI’s strategic collecting efforts over the past decade. In the last ten years alone, the permanent collection has grown by over 240%. Acquired through philanthropic donations, planned bequests, artists commissions, and recent support from the Cayman Islands Government, many of the featured works were originally inspired by, commissioned for, or drawn from NGCI temporary thematic exhibitions, studio visits and wider national projects like the Cayman Islands Biennial.
With over sixty acquisitions on display—ranging from historical artifacts to popular favourites and award-winning artworks—the exhibition also spotlights the creative ways NGCI has made its collection more accessible via exhibitions, publications, and community engagement programmes. Incorporating a dedicated education space within the confines of the lower galleries, NGCI’s digital programming is showcased through an interactive array of computers and iPad. Exploring the myriad ways in which audiences can now access the collection and NGCI’s wider offerings, the digital component of this project provides insight into several recently-launched initiatives, such as the Gallery’s Collections Online, virtual exhibition tours and past exhibition archives. Collectively, this online content provides an invaluable tool for NGCI’s audiences, reflecting the increasingly hybrid role of museums in our contemporary world—one in which in-person visits are being supplemented more and more by virtual and online experiences.
Participating artists in The People’s Collection include Maureen Anderson Berry, Marlena Anglin, Shane “Dready” Aquârt, Wray Banker, Jan Barwick, Lois Brezinski, David Bridgeman, John Broad, Gladwyn K. “Miss Lassie” Bush, Debbie Chase van der Bol, Randy Chollette, Carmen Conolly, Al Ebanks, Annalee Ebanks, Annie Joy Ebanks, Davin Ebanks, Rose May Ebanks, Kaitlyn Elphinstone, Horacio Esteban, Virginia “Auntie V” Foster, Lorna Griggs, Teresa Grimes, Ruth Harvey, Bendel Hydes, John Reno Jackson, Marc Laurenson, Charles Long, Chris Mann, Nickola McCoy-Snell, Carol Owen, Miguel Powery, Lizzie Powell, Pippa Ridley, Brandon Saunders, Jeremy Sibley, Joanne Sibley, Gordon Solomon, Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, Karoly Szücs, Simon Tatum, Cecilia Urdaneta, Janet Walker, Avril Ward, CE Whitney, and Sue Widmer.
The People’s Collection is on view until 28 May 2022. Admission to the gallery and the exhibition is free to all, and opening times are Monday to Saturday 10:00AM – 5:00PM. For more information about The People’s Collection and all related programming visit our What’s On page, or email programme@nationalgallery.org.ky