The National Park Service, Christiansted National Historic Site will open two new exhibits at Fort Christiansvaern, Christiansted, on Friday, March 31, as part of National Park Service (NPS) activities associated with the Centennial of the Transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States.
The first exhibit, entitled “Visionary Reflections: St. Croix at the Centennial Crossroads,” captures stories of Virgin Islanders living on St. Croix as they reflect on the past 100 years, and it addresses the questions being asked as the territory plans for the next century. It highlights memories and events from the past 100 years and asks: what does it mean to be a Virgin Islander, and what are the hopes for the future?
This exhibit is a collaborative effort of NPS Dr. Meredith Hardy; Greening Youth Foundation intern/UVI graduate Akeem McIntosh; University of Aarhus, Denmark, graduate student Gitte Westergaard; local historian Dr. George Tyson; and the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African-American History and Culture
The second exhibit, entitled “Chaney, Stories from Migrant Fragments,” explores how small pieces of ceramic, called “chaney” on St. Croix, viewed as fragments of a cosmopolitan past, are today representative of processes of discovery, economy, style and community identity. This exhibit is a collaborative effort by Gitte Westergaard, a graduate student at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; and St. Croix artist L. Vaughn Belle.
NPS gives special thanks to Brian and Nathan Bishop of Crucian Gold; David Hayes, archeologist; DPNR Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Office; David Brewer; and the St. George Village Botanical Garden for their assistance and contributions to the exhibit.
These two exhibits will be open to the public at noon on March 31, following the close of the Transfer Day events sponsored by the Government of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Transfer Centennial Commission on the grounds of Fort Christiansvaern.
Exhibits will be open to the public daily, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., during Fort Christiansvaern hours of operation.
For more information, contact Zandy Hillis-Starr, chief resource management, at 773-1460, ext. 235 or Dr. Meredith Hardy, cultural resource program manager/SEAC, at 773-1460, ext. 236. (www.nps.gov/CHRI)
