During May this year, the fifth McCoy Prize exhibition will open its doors to the public, at the new George Town venue, which is on the old site of Gold’s Gym. The aim of the McCoy Prize Exhibition is to encourage Caymanian art by offering prize money for the best piece of artwork in different categories.

Harris McCoy III created the prize, which the McCoy Family continues to fund each year. Mr McCoy also helps to administer the prize, along with executive Director of the National Museum, Anita Ebanks, and Director of the National Gallery, Nancy Barnard.

“The prize money has been increased to CI $10,000 in total. It is divided into three categories, Fine Art, Fine Craft, and Fine Art Photography,” Mr McCoy said. “This year, a new category has been created, ‘Best in Show,’ which is decided from the winners of each of the three categories.

There is also going to be a new category, ‘Artists’ Choice, so that artists can choose their favorite piece from among their peers,” Mr McCoy explained. The McCoy prize has been evolving since its beginning three years ago, and the administrators have tried to accommodate changes to reflect the feedback they were getting from the public.

Mr McCoy said that he was satisfied the prize and exhibition are achieving the aim of encouraging art among Caymanians. “We have never had so much art work from Caymanians in the exhibition,” he stressed.

There have been other intangible benefits, too: “One of the key things (the exhibition has achieved) has been the feeling of respect for Caymanian art,” Mr McCoy said. Mr McCoy said that the last few years have seen an explosion of interest in art in the Cayman Islands, particularly among Caymanians, and that he felt that the McCoy Prize Exhibition had made a significant contribution in this context.

He also spoke of the new issues that the administrators have had to deal with as the exhibition has developed, and the expanding scope of the exhibition, which began with the Fine Art category; the other categories being added later.

Mr McCoy was enthusiastic about the new venue for the exhibition. “We have 2,400 square feet. I hope that the size of the building will offers scope for artists wishing to produce larger work,” he said.