Simon Tatum, M.F.A. '21, Honored in Cayman National Arts and Culture Awards

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Simon Tatum
Simon Tatum, M.F.A. '21, was honored at the Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s 28th annual National Arts and Culture Awards, which took place on Feb. 17, 2022. National Arts and Culture Awards are given to those who have made a significant contribution to arts and culture or achieved a high-quality body of creative work. Tatum received the Bronze Star for Creativity alongside 11 other awardees. The CNCF Star for Creativity in the Arts Medal is awarded for artistic endeavor, achievement and excellence in the arts. The award has three levels: GOLD for a lifetime of high quality engagement (minimum of 20 years); SILVER (minimum of 10 years) and BRONZE (minimum of 5 years).

Simon Tatum received his Bachelor of Art degree from the University of Missouri (USA) in 2017, and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture and Expanded Media from Kent State University (USA) in 2021. Tatum’s thesis showcase, titled The Romantic Caribbean, featured at Kent State University’s CVA gallery in March 2021, and he has shown a solo exhibition within the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) titled Looking Back and Thinking Ahead. He has also participated in many group exhibitions, including Arrivants: Art and Migration in Anglophone Caribbean World at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society and the Sense of Place exhibition at Spinnerei Halle 18 in Leipzig, Germany.

Tatum was honored in 2016 with an international travel grant from the NGCI to attend the Caribbean Linked IV residency program in Oranjestad, Aruba. Moreover, he is also the first graduate scholar sponsored by the Peter N Thomson Family Foundation in Grand Cayman to pursue a graduate program.

Alongside his studio art practice, Tatum is developing skills in art administration and writing. He has previously worked with the NGCI and the Kent State School of Art Galleries and Collection. He currently works within Studio Campos-Pons in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

POSTED: Friday, March 11, 2022 03:49 PM
UPDATED: Friday, March 29, 2024 01:37 AM