The "Blackfullness" Exhibit opened in July at Fort Frederik in Freedom City, Frederiksted. Patrons have walked through the doors, some more than once, and witnessed the individualized expressions of this powerful group showing. The exhibition is closing Nov. 20. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Seize the time! Come for the first time or come again. Experience the "Third Annual Emancipation Art Exhibition" curated by Chief Curator Monica Marin of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DPNR-DLAM).
The success of this show is due to the support of DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol, DPNR Assistant Commissioner Jozette Waller, DPNR-DLAM Director Amy DeSorbo, DLAM Assistant Archivist Isaac Torres, and DLAM Custodial Staff Janet Smith.
Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums Territorial Director Amy DeSorbo said, "'Blackfullness,' DLAM's annual Emancipation art exhibition, is one of the strongest yet. I'm incredibly proud of our Chief Curator, Monica Marin, who curated this powerful show that highlights themes of freedom and resistance. DLAM's annual Emancipation Exhibition, alongside other exhibits and cultural programming, serves as an important educational space for lifelong learning. We hope that as many Virgin Islands students and residents as possible can engage with our exhibitions, and we offer a discounted rate of $5 for local residents, with all students under 18 admitted free of charge."
The works are submitted by artists across the Virgin Islands, the African-Caribbean Diaspora, and those connected to the region.
The community is invited to witness the artists' answers to the word "Blackfullness," coined by the late Black feminist Audre Lorde. In these works, patrons may discover what Lorde described about her love for her chosen home of St. Croix. It was the sense of great belonging and purpose her beloved Black majority community provided that transcended place.
It is here...in the "Blackfullness" exhibition that the featured works of the artists share "the spirit of resistance that is at the core of Virgin Islander's identity and that is etched into everything that makes Virgin Islands' cultural production so powerful. It calls attention to how Black protest and art and activism in our region have influenced international Black brilliance and liberation," Marin stated.
Lorde spoke about her experience of coming to St. Croix to heal in an interview entitled "Above the Wind." It was the threads of her African, Caribbean, and American identity meeting in St. Croix, where her life of purpose as an artist-activist was lived out. Lorde was drawn by the energy of the people of the Virgin Islands who have served as beacons of light and inspiration for her and for so many other creatives from the United States, Marin shared.
"There is a large and ever present Blackfullness to the days here that is very refreshing for me..." - Audre Lorde "Above the Wind" 1990
Alexis Pauline Gumbs has written a recent Audre Lorde biography entitled "Survival Is A Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde" (2024). Gumbs says Lorde coined the word to describe "what she loved about her chosen community in St. Croix, a place where she went to save her life and transform her longing for Caribbean homeland into accountable action, and in the full knowledge that we have yet to invent the words for the relationships we desire most with the multiple communities that call us, we created a lexicon of words for what we want it to feel like." "All This Refreshing Blackfullness" 2019.
Marin proposed the following questions to the artists in anticipation of their artistic submissions:
Waldemar Brodhurst is a Crucian artist who works exclusively in found and recycled materials. Cable, rope, barbed wire, glass, wood, screening, fabric, and found objects are all fair game for his extraordinary imagination and ability to turn trash into art-full treasure.
Couple in the Cane Field. 3-D Sculpture
Adrian Michael Edwards is a self-taught digital artist, graphic designer, and sculptor. Edwards experiments with various mediums, including sculptural works in clay, acrylics, and watercolor. Since 2016, his ventures into the digital realm have allowed him to explore the versatility of this medium.
"This piece challenges viewers to connect local narratives of liberation with global struggles, specifically highlighting the Palestinian fight for justice. The painting, which features a roughly rendered Palestinian flag overlaid with symbols from Yoruba, Nsibidi, Arabic, and personal creations, mirrors the complexities of global oppression. It asks us to question our alignment with marginalized communities and urges a deeper commitment to ongoing liberation worldwide."
Jeffrey Rezende was born on St. Croix in 1981. He attended Good Hope School, where he was encouraged to pursue art at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, MI, during the summer of 1993. He graduated from Central HS in 2000 under the direction of Anselm Richards and the Art Honor Society over which he presided. Rezende earned a BFA in painting from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 2005 and an MFA in painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2012. Rezende lives and works in Peabody, MA, where he exhibits his abstract paintings.
Anselm's Eye. Watercolor and Graphite on watercolor paper,18"x18"
Stuart Rames was raised in Frederiksted and is a predominantly self-taught artist. His well-known signature work has been experimenting with acrylic painting techniques. Rames has exhibited his vibrant and imaginative works on St. Croix and St. Thomas and they can be found in many private collections on St. Croix and abroad.
West End Social. Acrylic, oil on canvas, 25" x 36"
"Before emails...cell phones and iPads, a group of Frederiksted men get together to run an extension cord and set up a TV outside, on top of a car, to watch a boxing match. "Blackfullness" is a traditional sense of community in our Crucian culture. "Blackfullness" is our traditional rhythm, a sound born and developed from the ebb and flow of slavery. Blackfullness is the historical soundtrack of our lives as Crucians. "Blackfullness" is the hope of our next generation in an uncertain future still surrounded by beauty."
Victoria Rundberg-Rivera, M.D. is an emerging self-taught artist who retired from her New York medical practice to pursue her first love, writing. In the process, she discovered a new passion: painting. A longtime woodworker, she began drawing and painting for the first time, encompassing contemporary portraits and interpretive island scenes. Since 2015, her work has been exhibited on St. Croix and in the traveling exhibit Absolutamente Negro on St. Croix, which traveled to Casa Negro in Puerto Rico beginning in 2024.
Infinity. Acrylic-enhanced signed Giclee, 20" x 24" x 1.5"
Niarus Walker is a visual artist and curator, and she has served as an art educator for the V.I. Education Department. She has exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally, including the United States and Denmark, with works primarily in private collections. Walker has curated a number of exhibitions and has had several solo and group shows over 30 years. She was part of the inaugural cohort of the BIPOC Leaders of Color Fellowship 2022. She was instrumental in the creation of the Moko Jumbie Sculptures in the Midre Cummings Park in Frederiksted, St. Croix, as part of a community service project.
He Loves me when... Self-portrait, Oil on panel
"I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." (SS: 1:5-6)
Eric Paxton is a multi-talented artist who delves deep into the fascinating world of archaeology, using his knowledge and experiences to inform and inspire his artistry. His creative energy is his passion for outsider and street art. Three of his recent paintings garnered significant recognition and were highlighted in the prestigious pages of "Artist Talk Magazine."
Ayanfe Olarinde is a self-taught multimedia visual artist. Her journey into art stems from her love of scribbling, a process through which she is able to unpack her emotions in playful and intriguing ways while speaking on broader issues of self-exploration, as well as the stories that are untold.
Olarinde's form of expression is photography and mixed media collages.
The underlying theme through her works is the interrogation of society and governance. She has participated in multiple group exhibitions, and her works have been written in publications such as Now This News, CNN, Euro News, Konbini, and RADR Africa. Olarinde aims, through her art, to advocate for the marginalized, raise awareness, and impact society for good.
Conjunction (Kuhn-jungk-shuhn). Ink pen, Oil & Acrylic Spray on found canvas, 42" x 42"
Conjunction is a trans-Atlantic collaboration between Ayanfe Olarinde of Nigeria and Eric Paxton of St. Croix.
Lucien Downes is a Caribbean-born artist and curator whose work demonstrates freedom of thought and expression through mixed media. He utilizes resin, acrylic, fibers, raw pigments, plexiglass, inks, dyes, and, occasionally, found objects to create dimension and depth within culturally themed pieces. Downes' work is composed of spiritual and worldly elements that function independently at times or merge to encompass a whole. His art has been highlighted in several publications and is often showcased locally as murals and community projects. His works grace the walls of many high-profile homes.
Queen of the Dance. Mixed media, 36" x 48"
Elwin Joseph is a Dominican-born visual artist living on St. Croix. His primary medium is watercolor, but his first love is graphite. He also works in charcoal. The late Betsy Campen mentored Joseph and helped him gain exposure as an artist. He has exhibited locally and internationally in Egypt, England, and the United States. He fuels his art with authenticity and integrity, which allows him to create work that resonates with others. He works in various genres, including landscapes, portraiture, and still life. Joseph is an associate member of the National Watercolor Society and a member of the International Watercolor Society USA.
Durant Tower. Acrylic, 25 ¼" x 31"
Afreekan Southwell is a multi-talented artist who has been working for three decades in the visual and performing arts throughout the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, and the United States. Originally from Antigua, Southwell learned wood carving in primary school. When he moved to St. Croix in 1981, he taught himself to paint. Since then, he has learned the artistic disciplines and developed his skills as a painter, wood carver, sculptor, and turner. As a performing artist, he is an actor, poet, and drummer. He has performed in numerous Caribbean plays. He directed and co-directed theatrical plays for the "Gullah People's Moja Festival."
Southwell is an organizer and a master educator who shares African-Caribbean cultural history through the arts with young people in schools and communities throughout his travels. He is a member of the St. Thomas-St. John Woodworkers Society and is leading CHANT's restoration efforts in Free Gut, Frederiksted.
Duality. Sculpture
Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a queer Black feminist love evangelist and an aspirational favorite cousin to all life. She is the author of several books, most recently, "Survival is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde" (August 2024) and "Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mamma" (2020). Gumbs is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Prose, a Windham-Campbell Prize in Poetry, a Whiting Award in non-fiction, and a National Humanities Center Fellowship.
Paloma McGregor is a Crucian choreographer and arts leader based in New York City. As co-founder and executive artistic director of Angela's Purse, McGregor has spent nearly two decades centering Black voices through collaborative performance projects that she has dubbed "community-specific" ...focused on communities of color and public spaces as underpinnings of her work.
Sayeeda Carter is a St. Croix-based teacher and theater artist. She has acted and directed with CCT and is the founder of the Act Out Ensemble social justice theater company. Her ultimate goal is to continue using acting and advocacy to contribute to the dismantling of inequitable systems to help us ALL live more freely. She quotes Augusto Boal, "The theater itself is not revolutionary; it is a rehearsal for the revolution."
Nina Angela Mercer is a culture worker. Her plays are numerous: GUTTA BEAUTIFULl; ITAGUA MEJI; A ROAD AND A PRAYER; CHARISMA AT THE CROSSROADS; A COMPULSION FOR BREATHING; and GYPSY AND THE BULLY DOOR. Mercer's plays are published in the "Killens Review of Arts and Letters," "Black Renaissance Noire," "Continuum," "The Journal of African Diaspora Drama Performance," and many others.
"Blackfullness is" A'we Study Group video is conceived by Paloma McGregor and Monica Marin. Created by Rosa Navarrete and Paloma McGregor. Edited by Rosa Navarrete. Performed and filmed by A'we Study Group members Sayeeda Carter and Nina Angela Mercer, with additional footage by Paloma McGregor. Written by Sayeeda Carter and Nina Angela Mercer. Produced by Angela's Purse. Created with support from the New England Foundation For the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
We would like to thank the following artists for their inspiring work included in this exhibition: Waldemar Brodhurst, Jeffrey Rezende, Victoria Rivera, Lucien Downes, Elisa McKay, Danica David, Niarus Walker, Adrian Edwards, Ray Llanos, LaVaughn Belle, El'Roy Simmonds, Elwin Joseph, Stuart Rames, Quiana Adams, Mike Walsh, Danielle Kearns, Rob Gibson, Tralice Bracy, Therese Trudeau, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ra Malika Imhotep, Eric Paxton, Ayanfe Olarinde, Paloma McGregor's A'we Study Group featuring Sayeeda Carter, Nina Mercer, and Rosa Navarette, Afreekan Southwell, and the CHANT artisans: Allem Harry, Ny'Jah Eugene, Patrick Albuja, Daniel St.Jean, and Mathew Ramos.