The Christiansted Community Alliance (CCA) has announced that the Company Street Mural created by St. Croix artist Lucien Downes is undergoing an upgrade and a facelift. The mural, on a building at the corner of Company and King Cross Streets in Christiansted, is composed of painted panels that depict cultural dancers and musicians of St. Croix.
“I would like to thank the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development for supporting the refresh of this mural through a grant from the CARE fund,” CCA President Mary Dema said.
She also thanked the Virgin Islands Fire Service for its assistance in cleaning and washing the building and area around the mural, and to Lionel Downer and St. Croix Rotary Harborside for their commitment to the maintenance of the site. Rotary Harborside will continue the clean-up this coming Saturday, Oct. 29.
St. Croix artist Lucien Downes, who did the original in 2017, said he chose quadrille and quelbe as the subject for the mural to pay homage to Quadrille Master Bradley Christian, Quelbe King Stanley Jacobs, and all the musicians and dancers who have kept the iconic Virgin Islands music and dance tradition alive over the last half-century.
“Both Bradley Christian and Stanley Jacobs were the trendsetters of their generation,” Downes said. “They kept the artform alive by performing and teaching generations of St. Croix children this important part of our culture.”
Downes promises that the upgrade will be livelier. “I have changed some scenes, using the official Virgin Islands Madras colors, with more identifiable features in the faces of the tradition bearers,” he said. “I have improved as an artist since the first mural, so this time, Stanley will look more like Stanley on the panel.”
Downes expects the new panels to be mounted and on display by Monday, Nov. 1.
Christiansted Community Alliance is a St. Croix non-profit dedicated to the revitalization of the town. For more information, contact Mary Dema at 513-2081.
