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The National Gallery welcomed Biennial artists and guests on 10 April for the inaugural Cayman Islands Biennial Awards Ceremony. The evening was designed to formally recognise four of the exhibiting artists– two awardees and two runners up – while ultimately celebrating all 42 of the participating Biennial artists and their exceptional work which forms the basis of the multi-site Cross Currents exhibition.

The establishment of the awards component of the Cayman Islands Biennial forms part of a larger commitment by the National Gallery to supporting professional development opportunities for the arts sector at large. To recognise the most accomplished work in each year’s exhibition – in terms of technical and conceptual strength, as well as originality – two prestigious Cayman Islands Biennial Awards have been developed. The ‘Bendel Hydes Award’ is named in honour of Caymanian artist Bendel Hydes in acknowledgement of his distinguished 45-year career and is presented to the jury-selected overall winning artist. The second award, for the Emerging Artist category, honours the leading artist in the under-30 category. Both awards have been developed to provide much needed grant support for artists at the established and emerging level, with the Bendel Hydes Prize winner receiving a financial prize of CI$5,000 and invitation to exhibit at the National Gallery, and the Emerging Artist receiving a developmental grant towards a  residency programme or related training opportunity valued at CI$2,000. A five-person Awards Jury of local and international experts was created to select the Awardees. These persons were chosen for their knowledge of and commitment to Caymanian art or for their international expertise and knowledge of the wider Caribbean art sector. They were Carl Brown (Cayman Islands), Leonard Dilbert (Cayman Islands), Dr Erica James (Bahamas) Eme Paschalides (Cayman Islands), Dr Veerle Poupeye (Jamaica).

Runner up in the Emerging Artist category was Brandon Saunders for his three-part series entitled – Desdemona, Mallory, Avdimi (2018). This work was considered to be the most experiential in the exhibition. It seeks to engage with Western art history, and specifically the history of the formal portrait, by using an algorithm the artist designed, to hauntingly transform existing images from past centuries.

Winner in the Emerging Artist category was Paige Jordison for ‘Who Ya Fa?’ (2018). As per its title, the work explores how family powerfully mediates individual identities in small societies such as those of the Cayman Islands. The main structure refers to Caymanian grand maritime history and highlights its significance as a site of collective and individual memory. The installation also involves a “message in a bottle”, which speaks to how memories are communicated across space and time.

Runner up in the Bendel Hydes Award category was Sarah McDougal for Tides of Changes (2019), which was one of the smallest works in the exhibition.  The delicate coral structure made from various fibres, using traditional textile techniques such as hand embroidery and tatting. It is displayed in a bell jar, much like a scientific specimen jar, referring to the need to value and protect our fragile natural resources. The work also celebrates traditional Caymanian material culture – namely, its important textile and fibre arts traditions.

The Winner of the Bendel Hydes Award was artist Nasaria Suckoo Chollette for Becoming Again (2019). This installation work investigates the lifespan of traditional customs and speaks to the preservation of heritage. The artist has created a traditional mattress made from the dried leaves of the plantain and plantain suckers to symbolise both the act of creating and using traditional domestic items that played a central role in Caymanian family life. However, by extending the bed posts, she transforms a humble functional piece of furniture into an altar-like structure - elevating the domestic to the realm of the sacred. The resulting work has a powerfully evocative, emotive spiritual power.

The award winners – along with the runners up in both categories – were presented with a beautiful award that has been designed and created by leading Caymanian sculptor Horacio Esteban.

Artwork by the four Awardees, along with works by all 42 exhibiting artists, can be viewed at the National Gallery until 06 June, 2019, at the Little Cayman Museum until 15 June, and at various locations in Cayman Brac. Admission to the Gallery is free. For more information about related programming visit www.nationalgallery.org.ky/exhibitions