Two exhibitions at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands – TimeBack and Story in Symbols – will close on 3 September.
Visitors have a final opportunity over the next few days to see displays exploring the islands’ photographic archive and national iconography.
TimeBack draws upon the Cayman Compass newspaper’s extensive collection of journalistic photographs to showcase the Cayman Islands during the late 20th century.
The exhibition features images of civic functions, historic milestones, family gatherings and daily life, selected from an archive of more than 300,000 negatives digitised by volunteer historians and journalists.
The photographs document social and cultural changes across the islands and provide what the gallery describes as “a window into the Cayman Islands of the late 20th century”.
A Story in Symbols explores Caymanian cultural iconography and national emblems, examining how symbols shape national identity.
The exhibition features artistic interpretations of official national symbols including the Cayman parrot, silver thatch palm and banana orchid by 18 local artists.
Works range from direct illustrations to creative interpretations of subjects from the coat of arms and national song, including depictions of historical seafaring traditions and the rope-making industry that supported early economic development.
Featured artists include Deal Ebanks, Horacio Esteban, Miguel Powery, Joanne Sibley and Nickola McCoy-Snell among others.
The gallery will launch its fourth Cayman Islands Biennial on 2 October with Archipelago, a multi-site exhibition featuring contemporary Caymanian art across all three islands.
The biennial will present works by artists from the Cayman Islands, the Caymanian diaspora and international collaborators.
Archipelago addresses recent social and environmental changes affecting the islands, with curators describing it as examining “the unprecedented upheavals and accelerated pace of change that has characterised the Caymanian experience in recent years”.
