“Lunchtime with the Artist,” an ongoing artist talk series through October, spotlighting artists whose work is part of the Department of Natural Resources-Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums and offers a unique opportunity to hear directly from participating artists, held its final talk Thursday at Fort Frederik Museum on St. Croix.
The discussion provided a unique opportunity for community members to talk to artists from “The Tides of Freedom: Legacies of Resistance from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S.A.”
Tides of Freedom is a multidisciplinary visual art exhibition that seeks to bridge geographical and historical divides, highlighting how freedom movements and African people and their descendants are deeply interconnected, rooted in liberatory practice, cultural memory, and resilience. Curated by Monica Marin, the project celebrates the resilience and creative excellence of Virgin Islands artists while honoring them as “repositories of knowledge” and “living archives.”
“We sit on the fact that Virgin Islands artists are repositories of knowledge, and they are living archives. This series of conversations was really a way to feature them talking about what inspires them and how their work is shaped by larger liberation movements. It’s also a way to give the community a chance to know them and their process,” Marin said.
This year’s Tides of Freedom “Lunchtime with the Artist” exhibition featured artists El’ Roy Simmonds, Edney Freeman, Lucien Downes, Ralph Motta, Victoria Rivera, Elwin Joseph, Regina Keys, David Berg, Adrian M. Edwards, and Joia Woods.
For artist Adrian M. Edwards, Tides of Freedom offers an opportunity to deepen his exploration of what freedom means in a contemporary context. His featured work, Slave Ship: His First Bullet, draws inspiration from the Middle Passage and the ongoing struggle for liberation around the world.
“The exhibition is about resilience and the work that freedom fighters have done in the Virgin Islands,” Edwards said. “When Monica reaches out for art, I see it as an opportunity to study and to create pieces that push my understanding of freedom and humanity.”
His piece reimagines the silhouette of a slave ship, symbolizing the violent uprooting of African peoples, as a visual dialogue between past and present. “There’s a connection between that history and what’s happening now in Gaza or even here in the Caribbean,” he said. “Freedom is a living thing.”
A multidisciplinary artist influenced by Salvador Dalí, Banksy, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edwards combines surrealism and Afrofuturist imagery to explore love, suffering, and identity. “Art is how I read and heal,” he said. “Everyone wants to be seen. When people look at my work, I hope they understand me better and that what I’m saying about love, suffering, and humanity comes through.”
Edwards, who also performs African drumming with the St. Croix Conservatory, said he hopes to see more local infrastructure to support artists. “There are services that could make the art life less of a struggle,” he said. “I’d love to see a local division or private entity help artists with funding and paperwork.”
Another featured artist, El’ Roy Simmonds, embodies the spirit of Tides of Freedom. His life’s work spans visual arts, music, and education, each serving as a vessel of cultural preservation and resistance.
Born and raised on St. Croix, Simmonds’ creative path began early. “I didn’t know it then, but art was a part of my spirit,” he said. “My mother taught me that culture isn’t just something you read, it’s something you live.”
Simmonds studied fine arts and music education, blending his passions to form a holistic philosophy of creativity rooted in community. His art often references historical struggles, local music traditions, and everyday life in the Virgin Islands, depicting them with a reverence that connects the spiritual to the tangible. He spoke about his time as an exchange student at the Kuntz Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark, and earning his Master’s in Fine Art from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
“For me, art is the essence of who we are as a people,” Simmonds said. “We are the descendants of those who survived, people who turned pain into rhythm, movement, and color. When I paint, I’m speaking for them. I’m adding another verse to our song.”
Simmonds has long been a mentor to emerging artists, including some of those featured in the exhibition. His participation in Tides of Freedom reinforces the exhibition’s intergenerational dialogue, where established voices like his stand alongside new and evolving artists such as Edwards, illustrating how each carries forward the story of emancipation in their own way.
Through Tides of Freedom, Marin and the participating artists are cultivating an enduring record of Virgin Islands identity, struggle, and imagination. The exhibition not only commemorates emancipation but also redefines it as an ongoing act of creativity and self-determination.
“This is about honoring the living archive,” said Marin. “Our artists hold wisdom that’s just as vital as any historical text. Their work is our history, alive, breathing, and evolving.”
Marin said the initiative was so well-received that it will now be integrated into every exhibition moving forward. “This really gives the community an opportunity to hear directly from the artists and creates a space for intellectualism, for scholarship, and for recognizing art as a form of knowledge and knowledge-sharing,” she said. “We need to honor our artists and culture bearers while they’re living.”
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