��ֱ�� State Faculty and Students Strengthen Global Arts Dialogue Through "Archipelago"

��ֱ�� State University’s School of Art is proudly represented in the 4th Cayman Islands Biennial, Archipelago, through the significant curatorial roles of Associate Professor of Glass Davin Ebanks and Associate Professor of Art History Joseph L. Underwood, who were invited by the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands to co-curate the international exhibition.

Running Oct. 2, 2025, through Feb. 18, 2026, "Archipelago" spans multiple sites across the three Cayman Islands and explores themes of individuality and collectivity through the concept of an archipelago — a metaphor for islands existing as both distinct and interconnected entities.

For Ebanks and Underwood, the opportunity to co-curate "Archipelago" represents a natural extension of their decade-long collaboration and a synthesis of artistic and research practice.

“Creating a large-scale, complex exhibition like a biennial is both a research and creative practice,” Underwood said. “When this opportunity was extended to us, we knew it would be a challenge — but also a rewarding format for displaying our work as a practicing artist and an art historian.”

At ��ֱ�� State, Ebanks is known for his glass practice exploring cultural identity and environment, while Underwood’s academic work in modern and contemporary African art and exhibition practices brings a global and diasporic perspective. Their curatorial partnership on Archipelago exemplifies how faculty expertise can operate on an international stage while directly enriching student learning at home.

“Art is constantly evolving, and it has to respond to the needs of our particular time,” Underwood said. “If faculty aren’t keeping a pulse on what’s happening in the world — conceptually, materially and culturally — it’s difficult to carry a relevant practice forward. Projects like this ensure that what we teach remains current and connected to real-world contexts.”

Photos: Jim Gates, Courtesy of Artist and National Gallery of the Cayman Islands

Student Collaboration Through SURE

Two ��ֱ�� State School of Art students, Teresa Morek (studio art) and Kylee Groves (art history), joined the curatorial team as research assistants through the university’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, gaining hands-on professional experience that deepened their understanding of how exhibitions come together.

For Groves, the project revealed the collaborative and community-driven side of curatorial work.

“This project made me realize the community aspect of art exhibitions that I hadn’t really understood before,” she said. “Building a contemporary exhibition is more than making sure the pieces interact well — it’s about connecting the art with the community, the artists and the space itself. It gave me a hands-on experience that’s rare in a major often rooted in classroom learning.”

Morek said the experience offered a new appreciation for how artistic vision is translated and communicated in collaborative settings.

“One of the unexpected skills I gained was learning how to execute a vision that wasn’t my own,” she said. “As an artist, that was strikingly different. It helped me understand how curators and jurors think when assembling exhibitions and how artists can position their work within those frameworks.”

Both students noted that the project opened doors to potential career paths — from curatorial work to arts management — and provided valuable résumé experience for navigating competitive creative industries.

Expanding ��ֱ�� State’s Global Reach

As the first curators invited from outside the Cayman Islands, Ebanks and Underwood’s participation also extends ��ֱ�� State’s global reach.

“Now more than ever, it’s important to understand there are so many ways of doing one thing,” Underwood said. “The more people you meet and the more places you go, the more options you have for creating and innovating. The Cayman Islands Biennial saw the quality of our research and practice and invited us to be the inaugural outside curators — a recognition of the kind of global dialogue that ��ֱ�� State faculty are advancing.”

Projects like "Archipelago" exemplify ��ֱ�� State’s commitment to fostering global perspectives, providing students with direct access to international networks of artists, scholars and curators, and demonstrating how research and creative practice intersect to shape the future of art and education.

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