fp Turks and Caicos

The first exhibit of the Turks and Caicos National Museum on Providenciales will be the recreation of a typical 1800s Caicos dwelling on property adjacent to the future site of the museum in Grace Bay Village.

“The Caicos Heritage Project has been meticulously researched through research, site visits to North and Middle Caicos, and interviews with Belongers,” said project architect Jeff Lee of JAL Consultants Ltd. “The exhibit will be an accurate recreation of a typical Caicos family home that would have existed during the 1800’s, the style of which carried well into the 20th century.

“The project will be completed in the style and vernacular of the Caicos Islands and will include not only a typical dwelling, constructed with indigenous materials, but also a typical outdoor cooking area, a typical outhouse, and traditional furnishings.”

The museum’s board of directors said the exhibit has been made possible through an anonymous donation of $100,000. The plans for the exhibit have been approved by the Physical Planning Board and construction has commenced.

The Turks and Caicos National Museum is an organization that is privately operated, funded and managed. Its museum building on Grand Turk has been in operation for more than 20 years and will continue its role and be supported by the new museum on Providenciales.

The new museum on Grace Bay will open up the world of TCI history and culture to Providenciales Belongers, residents, visitors and students. It also will provide much needed space to display exhibits that have been in storage for lack of exhibit space.

The directors expect the Turks and Caicos National Museum on Providenciales to not only support itself, but ultimately support the Grand Turk museum financially and operationally.

The new museum on Grace Bay is in final architectural planning stages, Lee said. It will feature a glass front entry foyer, a 10,000-square-foot museum exhibit and display space, mezzanine offices, a museum retail shop, and a museum curatorial workshop.