Packaging St. Croix US Virgin Islands

      

Packaging St.Croix, US Virgin Islands is a program that involves St. Croix high school students. These students participate through a series of in-class exercises during their normal coursework period. 

     These students were asked to develop masks, drawings, essays, haiku poems, and brochures highlighting what St. Croix and the Virgin Islands means to them.  

     Their artwork features St. Croix's historical sites. Their written work includes short biographies on noted individuals past and present from St. Croix who have contributed to the community both Non-Virgin Islanders and Virgin Islanders. Plus an incredible array of masks represented five cultural categories: carnival, obeah, jumbies, mocko jumbies, and creolization.

      During the 2013-2014 school year, over 14 classes were visited at the St.Croix Educational Complex and over 700 students participated at least once in the program and over 300 impacted two or more times.   The Educational Complex teachers classes that participated in completing projects for an exhibition were,  Mrs. Yemaya Jones, Ms. Sayeeda Carter, Mrs. Menzies, Mr. Hazard and Ms. Anika Johnson.

     During the present exhibit at the Steeple Building (from July 3 to August 31, 2014) over 120 pieces were produced by St. Croix Educational Complex students, Crucians and Virgin Islander residents. 

     The Educational Complex student works are the first part of a developing long term revolving exhibit that will move from the Steeple Building into Fort Christiansvaern, and next year will include works by Central High School students.  Some additional work, such as,T- shirts, made by Danish high school students that visited the Educational Complex and Central High Schools will also be on display.

     "Packaging St. Croix, US Virgin Islands" was created by V. Celeste Fahie, a three-year educational consultant with the National Park Service.   Ms. Fahie, a 22 year resident of St. Croix, is a legendary "Harlem" New York native with ancestral roots in the Virgin Islands. She has developed two community based NPS funded programs "Packaging St. Croix US Virgin Islands" and "Assuring the Bonds of Legacy.” Ms Fahie, continues to work with non-governmental organizations and facilitate their programmatic inclusion in the local school curriculum. Her educational background complements the level of creativity needed in these programs, with a BS in Marketing and Graphic Arts, and work experience in corporate advertising.

  Architecture; The importance of knowing individual contributions to history is through understanding his/her role in shaping the future. St. Croix's Architecture featured by the students of Packaging St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, highlights this concept. Free people of color together with enslaved Africans and their descendants were the labor force that built this island in the 1700s and 1800s. Most were skilled artisans who built the great houses and the landmarks that we recognize today as our forts, government houses, and historical churches. The visible wealth that dominated the Danish West Indies in their first century, the 1700s, are still standing solid today in the twenty-first century. However, the builders are no longer "anonymous craftsman" but their names and duties are known and are available in the databases at the St. Croix landmarks Society, National Park Service, and the Florence Williams Public Library. These beautiful paintings were done by the students of St. Croix Educational Complex Art Class.