Exhibition
The Ties That Bind examines the multiple ways in which Caymanian artists have chronicled Cayman’s cultural evolution, reaching back to our Islands’ earliest forms of creative expression to trace a continuously shifting portrait of Caymanian society and its people. Adopting a thematic approach in place of the conventional chronological survey, this interweaving of the traditional and the contemporary seeks to embrace the complexity of Cayman’s rich cultural legacy, providing a roadmap for understanding who we are, where we have come from, and ultimately where we are going.
Revealing these threads of connection as a means of inspiring deeper insight around our shared histories, the featured artworks bring the Caymanian people to the forefront through an overarching focus on societal connections – the community ties and family relationships that have long served as the bedrock of the Caymanian experience; the bonds forged with our natural surroundings, as well as the collective effort to shape a clearer picture of our evolving national identity.
From the perceived erosion of cultural heritage to the challenges of rapid population growth and the associated environmental pressures that have characterised the first decades of the twenty-first century, this undertaking is all the more urgent in our present moment—as we look to the future and the continuation of a story that is still unfolding.