This year’s biennial acknowledges the unprecedented upheavals and accelerated pace of change that have characterised the Caymanian experience in recent years, mirroring in microcosm the broader state of Caribbean and world affairs in the first decades of the twenty-first century. Challenging the prevailing characterisation of island life as somewhat insulated from the effects of global geo-politics, Caymanian society has now reached a watershed moment—standing on the threshold of dramatic transformations that have already begun to impact the natural ecology, built environment, political outlook, and wider identity as a nation.

At the same time, while conversations progress at the national level, there is a renewed awareness of individuals as worlds unto themselves: from debates on personal rights, to highly curated social media, to bias-confirming algorithms, all of which have contributed to higher rates of loneliness and isolation than we have seen in generations. While these themes resonate universally—balancing the voices and rights of the collective with those of the individual—artists with significant ties to the Cayman Islands represent a kind of archipelago.

This 4th edition of the CIB, Archipelago, foregrounds the unique intersection of individual and collective roles in shaping the current moment, just as an archipelago can be viewed as both a single conglomerate entity and as hundreds of distinct islands with individual shores. Recognising the pressing need for open and constructive dialogue, this exhibition is a nexus for the open exchange of critical ideas, personal reflection, and imaginative possibilities.

Featuring 76 artworks by 60 artists/collectives, CIB4 is the most ambitious biennial to date, and the first to invite curators from outside the region. Across six venues, coded with each site’s colour on the biennial logo, and across three subthemes, with artworks’ labels marked by the iconic patterns below, we invite the viewer to consider how the artists’ visions on key social issues imperatively resonate at personal, national, and international registers—and on the relationship between those spheres.

Joseph L. Underwood & Davin Ebanks, CIB4 Co-Curators

National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (host venue): Mon - Sat 10am to 5pm, free admission

Cayman Islands National Museum: Mon to Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Cayman residents free admission Saturday

Mission House: Fri to Sat 10am-2pm to house, outdoor exhibit 24/7 access

Gram Bella's: 24/7 free access

Cayman Brac Heritage House: 

Little Cayman Museum: Thurs to Sun 1:30-5pm