Department of Planning and Natural Resources has announced that the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums will present its annual Emancipation Day Art Show at Fort Frederik Museum opening from noon to 6 p.m., Emancipation Day, Wednesday, July 3. This year’s Emancipation show is entitled: “BLACKFULLNESS: Emancipation 2024.”
The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums calls for all artists to submit proposals for this group art exhibition, conceived and curated by its chief curator, Monica Marin, by midnight, June 17.
BLACKFULLNESS is a word coined by the late Black feminist Audre Lorde to describe what she loved about her chosen home of St. Croix. Specifically, her beloved majority Black community provided her with a sense of great belonging and purpose that transcended place.
In an interview entitled “Above the Wind,” Lorde speaks to her experience of coming to St. Croix to heal and to be actionable as both an artist and as a human-rights activist. Like Lorde, many creatives from the U.S. have similarly been drawn by the energy of the people of the Virgin Islands who have served as beacons of light and inspiration.
This year’s exhibition spotlights the spirit of resistance that is at the core of Virgin Islanders’ identity and that is etched into everything that makes Virgin Islands’ cultural production so powerful. It calls attention to how Black protest and activism in our region have influenced international Black brilliance and liberation.
“As we close out the 175th year since Emancipation and reflect on what it means to be free under the liminal status of being a territory owned by but yet not a part of the United States, artists are urged to imagine a more just future for the Black majority of Virgin Islanders,” said Fort Curator Monica Marin, Fort Frederik Museum curator.
Artists from across the Virgin Islands, the African-Caribbean Diaspora and/or who are connected to our region are encouraged to submit artwork in all mediums that respond to the themes.
For more information, such as the exhibition guidelines and other curatorial themes, visit Blackfullness-Exhibition-Guidelines.pdf (www.vi.gov)
Submission Details
Artists may submit up to three pieces of creative work in any medium.
Artists must email Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums Chief Curator Monica Marin, monica.marin@dpnr.vi.gov their work in jpg format labeled with the artist’s name and title of work. Please include a short bio (300 words max) and project statement (500 words max) required for the wall text.
The email submission deadline is June 17, at midnight.
Artwork Drop-Off Submission Deadline is 4 p.m., June 24, Fort Frederik Museum.
Artists must be able to drop off and pick up their artwork at the Fort Frederik Museum and provide any equipment needed for installation.
