Natalie Urquhart, director of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, has been accepted into the prestigious Oxford Cultural Leaders programme.
She will join 26 other cultural leaders from around the globe this September to learn about traditional cultural leadership practice and new entrepreneurial skills within the industry.
The residential course has been designed and will be delivered by the Oxford Said Business School and the University of Oxford’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums.
Urquhart from George Town is the first Caymanian to attend the acclaimed international cultural leadership programme.
“The cultural sector has evolved rapidly since the pandemic,” Urquhart, who is also the creative director of Cayman Art Week, said in a press release on 8 September.
“As cultural leaders, we are reimagining how we can best serve our communities, while forging new connections, and addressing new complexities of sustainability, Artificial Intelligence and funding.
“This course offers an opportunity to strengthen leadership skills and to gain renewed access to current knowledge and best practice.”
Following the completion of the programme, the participants will emerge as part of a diverse global network of over 250 cultural leaders who represent some of the world’s leading museums, galleries and cultural venues
Urquhart hopes this will bring increased opportunities for collaboration with the Cayman cultural sector.
“I am excited to bring renewed and revitalised leadership skills into my institutional roles, personal projects, and wider national cultural advisory work, and to share these with our team upon my return,” she said.
Urquhart has led the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands since 2009.
She has overseen the growth of the dynamic arts organisation into a fully-fledged national art museum with a purpose-built facility, tri-island programming, and global presence.
Urquhart has held leadership roles at the Museums Association of the Caribbean (2017-2020), and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (2022-2024).
In 2021 she founded Cayman Art Week to support the strategic growth of the Cayman Islands’ art market and gallery sector.
She currently serves as an ICOM UK Trustee, a project advisor for the Shared Islands Stories Project (University of St Andrews).
She was formerly on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, the Tilting Axis Caribbean art alliance, the Cayman Islands Constitution Commission, the Nationals Arts and Culture Awards Committee, and the Cayman Islands National Cultural Policy Committee, and others.
Urquhart is the recipient of the Young Caymanian Leadership Award and several other national awards for her work.
She was recognised in the 2022 Queen’s New Year Honours list with a British Empire Medal for her contribution to arts and culture in the Cayman Islands and wider region.
