Mar 22, 2022 | Island News
The Virgin Islands Architecture Center is a community development non-profit corporation, organized to develop the Old Barracks property on Hospital Street, Christiansted, St. Croix into an urban campus and education lab that will teach, train and certify our young people in the building arts of stone, wood, iron and other crafts used to build and restore Virgin Islands and other historic towns. The VIAC has been observing Virgin Islands History Month by celebrating the Built Heritage of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. The VIAC has put together a number of cultural exploration experiences for students and the public on the history and legacy of our towns and historic places and an event on March 11th to exhibit preliminary concepts for the restoration of the Old Barracks property, present speakers on the importance of Virgin Islands built heritage.
Click here to read more about the programs on their website and the full article on the St. Croix Source here.
#virginislands #caribbean #architecture #vihistorymonth #historicpreservation #stcroix
Mar 22, 2022 | Island News
Senator Milton Potter is challenging Virgin Islanders to have fun planting seeds and starting home gardens with their families with the Second Annual Plant a Seed Challenge. Each contestant who registers in one of the 4 age categories will receive a bag of seeds and enough soil to germinate the seeds to grow Cherry Tomatoes and/or Bok Choy. Contestants must use the seeds and initial soil provided by the program. The first Seed Challenge occurred last year and over 200 students in St. Thomas and St. John signed up to participate. This year the challenge has extended to the island of St. Croix so that students in the entire territory can participate. The Senator announced that “the challenge is literally and figuratively planting the seed of possibility in expanding agriculture in the Virgin Islands.”
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Tourism are assisting with providing prizes and resources for participants. UVI’s Cooperative Extension Services provides the planning and technical support for the success of the challenge.
Read the full article on St. Croix Source here.
Photo credit Adisha Penn
Mar 22, 2022 | Island News
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett voted to pass H.R. 2471, government funding legislation. She announced in an interview that “the bill’s transformative investment will help working families with the cost of living, create American jobs and support the vulnerable who work hard” as reported on the St. Croix Source (read full article here).
“The investments in this package address some of our nation’s biggest challenges while providing much-needed support to Virgin Islanders” the Congresswoman said, and explained that the provisions will be “investing in the Virgin Islands middle class”. The bill:
- Averts the Medicaid funding cliff in the Virgin Islands by extending the increased rate of federal funding (83%) for Medicaid in the Virgin Islands through Dec. 13, 2022, averting a sharp decline in the rate of federal Medicaid funding to the Virgin Islands.
- Contains the negotiated bipartisan agreement for federal government funding over the remainder of fiscal year 2022, which includes a $6.5 million increase in Department of the Interior assistance to territories.
- Contains funding for House-approved community projects requested for the Virgin Islands (read more details here)
#stcroix #usvi #virginislands #caribbean #community #funding #investment
Mar 21, 2022 | Island News
This is great story about giving back to the community! With students coming out of the pandemic and back school in person, local school libraries could use some new books. Altona Lagoon Book Club in St. Croix tried to “pay their love of books forward” to a local elementary school. Members selected Juanita Gardine K-8 school as the recipient of their donation. The school librarian came up with a list of books the students would like to read. With the help of the book club along with former Juanita Gardine student Keith O’Neale of O’Neale’s Transport, Inc., all the books on the list were purchased at Undercover Books & Gifts in Gallows Bay and given to the school.
Read the full article on St. Croix Source here.
Photo credit: Elisa McKay
#books #donation #stcroix #stcroixusvi #caribbean #community
Feb 27, 2022 | Island News
International Coastal Cleanup is combining cleanup efforts in the territory with data collection. They use data to support natural resource management and different policies and frameworks. More than 30 volunteers participated in the recent Hull Beach cleanup event (read the VI Daily News article here).
Volunteers including members of the Black in Marine Science group also participated in the Salt Water Bay cleanup in St. Croix. According to the organization’s mission statement, it “aims to celebrate Black marine scientists, spread environmental awareness and inspire the next generation of scientific thought leaders.” According to one of the BIMS volunteers’ tweet, the group “in 50 minutes we collected 55 POUNDS of trash.”
#stcroix #usvi #caribbean #SaltRiverBeach #saltwaterbay #beachcleanup #conservation #marine #preservation #environment
Feb 15, 2022 | Island News
Say hello to St. Croix’s newest art gallery! Christa’s Art Gallery in downtown Christiansted features artwork and products from local artist Christa-Ann Davis Molloy that distinctly captures the rich cross-cultural experience of the USVI and beyond. A daughter of the Caribbean, Christa-Ann was born in Trinidad but has lived on St. Croix for almost 30 years. She became interested in art and design from age 11, sketching in pencil. Far from your conventional artist, her pieces are designed to take individuals on a journey rich in history and culture. The gallery acts as a carefully commissioned space where her cultural artwork can be on display for Virgin Islanders and visitors to appreciate and ultimately purchase the pieces that speaks the most to them. “Every piece I paint should tell a story to someone,” said Christa-Ann. “I want my art to create words.”
At Christa’s Art Gallery, you are sure to be spellbound by paintings and sketches highlighting mocko jumbies, quadrille dancers, carnival masqueraders, steelpan drummers, historical buildings, local and Caribbean scenes, and notable events. “I’ve aimed to be a photo-realist painter with main interests in visual art, watercolor, oil, acrylic, and ink in black and white and color.” At Christa’s Art Gallery, one will also find her artwork depicted on items such as mugs, canteens, shower curtains, coasters, umbrellas, throw pillows and bags.
The gallery hosts regular sip and paint events where attendees can create their own artwork. Art kits are also available for purchase to craft one-of-a-kind creations in the comfort of your own home. If nothing in the gallery sparks your interest, customized and commissioned works are available upon request.
Christa’s Art Gallery is located at 57 Company Street in Christiansted. For more information, visit the website at www.christaart.com or call 340.713.9959.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Photo of painting from www.christaart.com
#stcroix #stcroixusvi #usvi #art #culture #community #development #visual #gallery #artwork
