“Clear Deh Road: Counter Archives of Resistance Art Exhibit,” a contemporary art show commemorating the Virgin Islands’ 175th anniversary of freedom from enslavement, will debut on Monday, July 3, at Fort Frederik Museum. The museum on St. Croix is the historical site where Virgin Islands’ ancestors won their freedom.
The Virgin Islands 175th Emancipation Commemoration Committee in partnership with Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums worked collaboratively on the exhibit that features artwork from across many different disciplines. The exhibit includes paintings, large-scale murals, digital mixed media, sculpture, 3-D objects, video art projections, artistic interventions, a video and short film/documentary, a short book of poetry with photography, textile art and performance.
Carol Burke, chairwoman of the 175th Emancipation Commemoration Committee, and Jean-Pierre L Oriol, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, invite the public to attend the activation of art, culture and history at the historic Fort Frederik.
Monica Marin, DPNR’s Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums territorial chief curator, curated the exhibit. “Viewers will learn about the powerful work of over 20 multi-disciplinary cultural producers at the forefront of reclaiming history in their own artistic storytelling and creative interventions with the colonial archives. Their work offers new perspectives that destabilize the supremacy of the story colonial archives tell, moving beyond the static pages of ledger books and linear approaches to history,” Marin said.
A new mural project by Mark “Feijao” Milligan II with Danica David and her art students will be unveiled at the exhibit. Other featured artists include El’Roy Simmonds, Tiphanie Yanique, Stephanie Hanlon, Chalana Brown, Gerville Larsen, Ayana Flewellen, Shalimar Cruz, Cynthia Oliver, Paloma McGregor, La Vaughn Belle, Sigi Torinus, Oceana James, Augustin Holder, Elisa Mackay, Victoria Rivera, Ray Llanos, Janet Cook-Rutnik, Waldemar Broadhurst and Sara Hayes.
The show opens at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 3, at Fort Frederik Museum. The opening includes a 5–8 p.m. reception with cash bar. A special artistic intervention will happen at 7 p.m. to include projections on the walls of Fort Frederik.
In association with the exhibit, St. Croix-born interdisciplinary artist Oceana James will host an Ancestral Walk and Interactive Ritual Performance on Sunday, July 2. Those interested in participating in the Ancestral Walk are invited to meet Oceana James at 3:30 p.m. at the West End Intersection of Creque Damn Road on St. Croix for the start of the Ancestral Walk. The Walk will end outside Fort Frederik, where a Community Altar will be built. Participants in the Ancestral Walk are asked to wear white and bring a journal and pen, drinking water, an umbrella, and an instrument for use after the walk.
Amy Parker DeSorbo, Director of DPNR’s Division of Libraries Archives and Museums, said, “DPNR is proud to partner with the 175th VI Emancipation Commemoration Committee on this monumental project. Our goal for our VI Museums is to capture, showcase, and memorialize the history of the Virgin Islands. The artwork curated by our territorial curator brings together an amazing tapestry that tells the rich story of the emancipation that honors the ancestors of the Virgin Islands,” DeSorbo concluded.
Clear Deh Road Art Exhibit will remain open until Friday, Oct. 20. The exhibit will open during normal Fort Frederik Museum hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The project was funded by the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums, the 175th Emancipation Commemorative Committee’s Subcommittee on Education and Public Display, and First Bank.
For information on other upcoming Emancipation events, visit www.vi175.com or connect with USVI Emancipation on Facebook.
