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The National Gallery is delighted to announce a virtual exhibition of works by students of our Walkers Art Club 2019-2020 programme. We are sincerely grateful to Walkers for their continued support, which has allowed a diverse set of students to access art programming at no cost.

Now in its fifteenth year, the Walkers Art Club is a well-established programme that continues to enjoy an excellent reputation throughout the islands, remaining in high demand amongst children and parents. The six afterschool art clubs support 85 students weekly, from public and private sector schools, ranging in age from foundation, primary school students (in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac), secondary school students and teens who are studying for their final exams.

2019-2020 was a year of great adaptability and exciting developments for Walkers Art Club. From September until March, students attended classes in our Susan A. Olde Art Studio, where they learned a range of studio skills including drawing, watercolour and acrylic painting, collage, assemblage of recycled materials, printing using natural materials, sculpture, ceramics and weaving. Taught concepts included still life, watercolour, portraiture, pointillism, colour theory, Caymanian Art History, transfer printing, graphic art, environmental art, and perspective. In March 2020, Walkers Art Club went digital due to government-mandated office closures and restrictions on group gatherings to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Education Department continued to work closely with Walkers Art Club instructors to develop digital lessons that extended previously covered topics and introduced new themes.

The Walkers Art Club 2019-2020 online exhibition is a celebration of the exceptional work achieved by our students and instructors during this challenging year.

When asked about the programme and digital developments, Senior Education Coordinator, Maia Muttoo said “In modifying Walkers Art Club for 2020’s global environment, NGCI’s education department embraced the digital platform as a space for borderless learning. By producing virtual lessons and curb-side collection art packs during Cayman’s lockdown period, we were able to continue students’ access to both art instruction and art materials. Now through this online exhibition, we have the opportunity to showcase student work, admirably produced under such challenging circumstances, to a much broader audience. We are thrilled to be working alongside Walkers again in 2020-2021 to continue facilitating student creativity.”

Tim Buckley, Managing Partner at Walkers commented: "Walkers has always been a big supporter of the arts and this year it has been more important than ever to provide young people with a creative outlet. We are looking forward to seeing the artwork that has been produced by the students, via digital instruction, and the different mediums used to convey their experiences visually."

“This year our Walkers students have shown resilience, adaptability and incredible commitment to their creative practice as their world changes around them, and this online exhibition is a wonderful selection of what has been achieved. We are grateful to Walkers for their long-term and continued support of this programme and their foresight and understanding that in times such as these, providing a creative outlet for reflection and expression is more important the ever" adds NGCI Director, Ms. Natalie Urquhart.

The exhibition is live now, visit https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/whats-on/exhibitions/walkers-art-club-2019-2020-student-exhibition/.  For more information about the Walkers Art Clubs please contact the National Gallery at (345) 945 8111 or email education@nationalgalllery.org.ky. Registration for the 2020/2021 are complete, with new registrations taken annually in August. Visit www.nationalgallery.org.ky for further details.