Grounds for Play: De/Constructing and Mediating Identity(ies) in the Exhibition Space in the Cayman Islands

This research will investigate the efficacy of exhibitions as a tool for social activism, with a particular focus on constructing and mediating contemporary identity(ies) within marginalised communities. It will investigate the racialised socio-political status of the museum going experience and aim to position the exhibition model as a key component for social impact beyond the exhibition timeline. Impact will therefore be measured by cultural capital accumulated. It will also examine the ability for diasporic, migrant, and disenfranchised communities to acquire upward social mobility and identity mediation. This will be held against the proposition of converting social and cultural capital into economic capital.

Kerri-Anne Chisholm  is a Caribbean cultural practitioner and social justice activist based in the Cayman Islands. She holds a BA in Fine Art and MA in Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture, and has developed exhibitions as a curator and consultant at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, the University of Oxford (UK), Tate Modern (UK), and community projects within England and the Caribbean. As a PhD student at the University of Reading and Zurich University of the Arts, her research looks into the racialised socio-political status of the exhibition going experience and aims to position the exhibition as a key component for social and community-focused impact outside the exhibition timeline and space.