This summer, curators from the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) will reveal the inner workings of the museum’s Permanent Collection by converting the entire lower exhibition hall into a temporary research lab while undertaking a full evaluation of the artwork.

The exhibition All Access will coincide with the Gallery’s collections review, which is part of the ongoing conservation process for these pieces. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to chat with curators who are working on one or more permanent collection artworks in the exhibition hall each day.

Over 200 works of art will be on view in a “Salon-style” display format, a tradition followed by major art museums until the 20th century. Visitors to the All Access exhibition have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and learn about the history of the collection, the environmental conditions and conservation requirements needed for long-term care, as well as future plans for increased interpretation and scholarship. Handouts including activities for kids and information on how to care for private collections are available to the public. Visitors are also invited to engage in a series of study stations, which include learning how to complete a condition report (assessing the condition of an artwork) and researching collection care and management.

Two related documentaries will be on view throughout the exhibition. The first, Caymanian Art: A New Frontier, by young local filmmaker Ernst Jacob Olde VI, is a 20-minute documentary that traces the development of the gallery’s permanent collection and explores its diverse range of artists. The film will be screened on a continuous loop throughout the exhibition. The second is a documentary that follows conservators working at the Washington, D.C.-based Smithsonian Institution, one of the world’s top arts institutions.

All Access will also kick off NGCI’s exciting new project Art on the Street, where reproductions of some of the community’s favourite artworks from the National Collection, will pop up in each of Cayman’s six districts.

For a complete series of other screenings, lectures and education programmes related to this exhibition visit www.nationalgallery.org.ky/exhibitions.

www.nationalgallery.org.ky