(CMR) Bendel Hydes will receive the Visionary Award for Visual Positive Arts at this 12 months’s Cayman National Cultural Foundation National Arts & Culture Award on 17 February.
Because the Cayman Islands’ foremost visual artist, Bendel Hydes is rightly recognized because the founding father of up to date art within the Cayman Islands. During his 50-year profession as an expert artist, he has carried the torch for Caymanian culture locally and overseas. Hydes’ work has been exhibited in prestigious art institutions, including the Commonwealth Institute in London and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. His work has also been featured in several of probably the most outstanding international exhibitions of Caribbean art.
Hydes was instrumental in co-founding the National Theatre, the precursor to the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF), and the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI). He has also taught quite a few artist’s workshops at each CNCF and NGCI, helping to coach the subsequent generation of Caymanian artists.
In 2004 Hydes was made cultural attaché to the US, serving as a cultural ambassador for Cayman and helping to further support the promotion of Caymanian culture overseas.
The importance of Hydes’ work in art historical circles is reflected by his inclusion in seminal publications on Caribbean art and artists. He also has the excellence of being the one Caymanian artist to receive a FULL profession retrospective on the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands in 2019, which was accompanied by a 200-page scholarly publication.
