It was a busy night at the National Gallery on Friday 30th November. With the Art of Fashion Gala in full swing our resident membership expert, Vicki Calvert-Das, was catching people as they came through the door to offer them the chance to enter a fabulous membership raffle. A yearlong Fellowship Membership and inscribed paver stone was up for grabs for the lucky winner, along with a runner-up prize of an Adult Membership to the National Gallery, which includes regular communications and invitations to the exciting events and programmes scheduled for 2019.
The lucky winners were Amanda Goodwin, scooping the coveted Fellow Membership and inscribed paver stone, and Careen Craig, who picked up the Adult Membership. Well done to you both: we look forward to seeing you at the National Gallery very soon and maybe even using your 10% member discount to do some Christmas shopping in the Gallery Store …
Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their evening to participate – your support is hugely appreciated, and we hope you will consider joining our membership programme in 2019, with annual memberships typically costing just KYD$50.00 and with discounts for teachers, artists and senior citizens!
Why Become a Member?
Not only does National Gallery membership come with a variety of great benefits, from invitations to member preview evenings and events, to store discount, complimentary tea and coffee and regular information about National Gallery happenings, but the programme also helps to generate crucial funds that are needed to support gallery operations. Funds raised through our membership programme help to ensure free entry for our community and visitors to our exhibitions, giving everyone the opportunity to learn more about Caymanian art history, culture and the Islands’ contemporary artists. It also supports critical operations and enables the National Gallery to continue to offer an exciting programme schedule, from lectures to screenings and workshops.
Each year the National Gallery receives about half of its required budget from the Cayman Islands Government, leaving the other half to be funded through the generous support of our patrons and sponsors. Through initiatives such as the membership programme, the National Gallery team works to bridge this funding gap and continue to drive our mission forward. The mission of promoting and encouraging the appreciation and practice of the visual arts of and in the Cayman Islands guides all that we do, and our goal of opening up and preserving the history of the Cayman Islands through its art and by making it available to all of those within our community should not be underestimated. The arts have repeatedly been shown to provide an array of benefits to communities, from economic opportunities to social cohesion and community investment through education and well-being. They are also a way of preserving the history and culture of our Islands, using the eyes of the artists to record and document the changing landscape, styles and inspirations around us. Our artists often shine a light on the here and now, looking to the future through their creative minds at current issues and events and considering where we are heading as an island, a community and as citizens of the world.
Join us, support us and invest in the story of the Cayman Islands!