Virginia Foster

Born in Belize, Foster arrived in the Cayman Islands in 1977, where she served the community as an educator, a youth librarian in the Public Library Service and a CNCF board member. Performing in CNCF’s Gimistory as a storyteller, Foster also works as a ceramicist, fashion designer and poet. She received recognition for her contributions to Cayman’s arts and culture, including the Emerging Pioneer Certificate (2014) and a Gold Star for Creativity in the Arts from CNCF (2012).

In this ceramic work, Virginia Foster nods to traditional craft forms, highlighting the aesthetic beauty and intricacy of such items. By pressing a doily into the clay, she captures the fine lacework of a once-common domestic item, transforming it into a permanent impression. This method honours the heritage of handmade textiles while reimagining their role in the contemporary artistic landscape, contemplating qualities such as the form, material, and texture of traditional works. Through aestheticizing this traditional craft, Foster’s work encourages audiences to consider why craft such as these were popular in Caymanian society, as well as why and how we can honour these traditions in rapidly changing environments.

Biography adapted from National Gallery of the Cayman Islands website: (https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/artist/virginia-auntie-v-foster/)