Visiting the National Gallery will be a very different experience when the new facility, off the Esterly Tibbets bypass, opens to the public on
1 February.
It’s been a long time in the making but all members of the community now have a brand new exhibition space and education centre at their disposal.
National Gallery Director Natalie Urquhart
hopes that it will be a welcoming space for all, and that both residents and visitors will feel free to visit the gallery or even just relax in the landscaped gardens for as long or short a time as they like.
The new facility is designed to be a cultural centre that is accessible to everyone, whatever their artistic inclination or knowledge might be.
Exhibitions
The exhibition space itself is
in one half of the building, with exhibitions on two levels. The lower level will house the temporary exhibitions, the first of which will be a collection titled Circumnavigating the Globe by Caymanian artist Bendel Hydes.
The upper level provides a permanent home, for the first time ever, for the National Collection – a collection of artwork spanning 40 years that
is jointly owned by the National Gallery, the Cayman National Cultural Foundation and the National Museum. There is not enough space to display the entire collection at one time, but the collection will be rotated.
There will also be a small retail section within the gallery, selling works of art by local artisans and NGCI merchandise.
Education
The adjacent building is a comprehensive Education Centre, which includes a state
-of-the-art auditorium, which will be used for lectures, film screenings and even conferences. A fully equipped art studio provides a dedicated space for many of the NGCI’s outreach programmes to be held, as well as continuing education classes for adults.
Art classes begin in February.
The Education Centre also includes an Arts and Culture library with all manner of both local and international publications, journals and audio visual materials available to borrow.
The Grounds
The extensive three acres of grounds at the new facility have been beautifully landscaped with Caymanian flora and include a nature heritage trail that one can follow, identifying local plants and their social, cultural or medicinal uses. The gardens will include a sculpture garden and multi
-purpose facility and a small coffee shop will serve refreshments and snacks. On occasion the gardens will be used to host art fairs and other events.
The entire facility has been designed with income generation in mind and both the lecture theatre and gardens will be available for private and corporate functions.
Admission to the gallery is free to all but the public is encouraged to support the NGCI, a non-profit organisation – by purchasing membership, which includes invitations to exhibition openings, lectures, discussions, regular newsletters, access to the lending library and a 10 per cent discount on art classes, workshops and retail goods.
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