81C

11/05/2026

81C Weekly: 81C Weekly: Immersive Art Show Launch 5.15 | Artist Talk 5.21 | Open Mic 5.22 | Summer Arts Program Launch - https://mailchi.mp/3e28d575e12f/nov5-10347005

04/05/2026

JOIN US FOR THE OPENING | MAY 15TH (5PM-12AM)
81C ST THOMAS

SHOW DESCRIPTION
Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain by Emily Braswell (Strawberriemilk) and Jenna Rees (Warmmilkwithsugar) unfolds as a warped cinematic universe where painting, video, and sculpture collapse into a single, unstable narrative field. Centered around a fictional 1980s movie star in a meta-perspective of invented lore from parallel storylines, the work drifts between past and present, constructing a world where time folds in on itself and meaning emerges through fragments rather than sequence.
Hybrid airbrush and traditional paintings operate as imagined film artifacts: posters, stills, and visual residues from fictitious movies that are rendered with a hyper-saturated, almost synthetic clarity. Their surfaces oscillate between softness and precision, evoking the tactile nostalgia of analog media while simultaneously referencing the flattened glow of digital imagery. Sculptural interventions punctuate the space with quiet absurdity, grounding the work in physical form while amplifying its psychological tension.
The accompanying video component extends this atmosphere into motion, offering a disjointed, voyeuristic glimpse into the interior lives orbiting this fictional figure. Rather than resolving into narrative, the work lingers in mood—an uneasy balance of humor, longing, and quiet unpredictability.
Drawing from the American south small-town culture and nostalgia for the sensationalized monolithic star style fame of pre-internet times, Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain constructs a world that feels both intimately familiar and fundamentally distorted. It is less a story than a condition—one where fantasy and perception continuously rewrite one another.
— The Curators, 81C, Charlotte Amalie, 2026

ABOUT THE SHOW
Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain expands the evolving Krankie universe into a dual-location experience spanning 81C in historic Charlotte Amalie and to the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
This two-part presentation deepens the narrative and physical experience of the work—bridging gallery and academic environments to create a layered, immersive encounter with contemporary art in the Virgin Islands.
At 81C, the exhibition unfolds as a fully realized environment, where painting, sculpture, and video merge into a cohesive sensory installation. Visitors enter a world shaped by reimagined retro visuals, nonlinear storytelling, and abstraction executed with realistic precision—an uncanny space where narrative operates more as atmosphere than linear story.
At the UVI Innovation Center, Krankie II activates XIIID’s Zen Room as a dedicated cinematic environment, highlighting the exhibition’s cinema components and offering viewers engagement with multi-screen moving-image. Accompanied by a selected sculptural element positioned within this academic and research-driven setting, the activation invites students and the public to encounter the work through curiosity, reflection, and shared viewing, ultimately driving visitation to the full scale show at 81C in Charlotte Amalie.
Together, this dual-location experience reflects a shared commitment between 81C, XIIID, and UVI to advance student engagement through arts production in the VI. The show highlights the role of creative immersive experiences as an incubator for intellectual infrastructure—capable of constructively shaping how we observe, engage, and relate to fine arts.

16/04/2026

This week, Student Art Show 2026 flies to St Croix for its Saturday April 18th opening reception!

Join us at opening night (5-10PM))to see over 40 works by the wondrous students of our Expression Through the Arts and DigiLocal programs.

“This exhibition showcases artwork created by young artists from 81C Arts’ Expression Through the Arts summer program, alongside digital animations from students in the DigiLocal after-school program and selected works from students in the wider community. At its heart, this show is a celebration of student voice — their thoughts, perspectives, and evolving sense of self. Through painting, poetry, and digital media, each piece offers a glimpse into how these artists see and experience the world.

Many of the works are paired with poetry created through a collaborative ekphrastic process, where students responded to one another’s artwork with written reflections. Other pieces feature blackout poetry, formed from pages of The Great Gatsby, where students shaped their own meanings from a shared text. Throughout the exhibition, these approaches highlight the power of interpretation, showing how different voices can emerge from shared experiences.

A significant portion of the work includes self-portraits, where students used color, symbolism, and words to express identity and self-perception. Together, these works reflect creativity that is thoughtful, expressive, and deeply personal. Each piece invites you to look closely, to read, and to listen — and to experience the world through the eyes of these young artists.”
- The Curators, 81C Arts, 2026

📸 opening reception STT / students + families night at 81C on STT for Student Art Show 2026 (pics from Feb)

14/04/2026

.baggage x 81C pop up / STT
Thank you to everyone who pulled up to support this creative and inspiring brand.
Thank you Kristen King - for your vision and craft ❤️
March was so fun.. let’s do it again ✨
ty .usvi

10/04/2026

joins 81C as the inaugural AIR (artist in residence) on St Thomas for April/May 2026.

The new 81C Arts led AIR program hosts visiting artists from throughout the Caribbean - the program drives arts immersion, creative community networking, and critical production time for artists looking to peel away from their norm and have an adventure somewhere new.

Meet Saki:
4.11
81C pop up launch 4.14
81C artist talk 5.21

Bio:
Alejandro Saki Sacarello ( b.1993, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is an Artist currently based in Santurce Puerto Rico. He first became interested in art in high school where he was celebrated and mentored by teachers for his curiosity towards painting. He obtained a BFA on painting from
the School of Fine Arts and Design of San Juan where his interest toward drawing and archetyping everyday life objects and situations first sparked. He has shown his work at a number of places ranging from México City to New York. His recent exhibitions include “En Casita Relax” solo show at Recinto Cerra, Santurce PR (Oct 2023), “Pluralismos” group show at El Kilómetro, Santurce PR (Jan 2024), “Cálido” group show at Black Brick Project, Brooklyn NY
(Jan 2024), “La Rueda” by Sabroso Projects, Chelsea NY (April 2024), “Enredos en mi Terraza” solo show, Puerta de Tierra (Nov 2024) and “Un Pequeño Mar”(2025) at Sabroso aprojects, Santurce.

08/04/2026

Art On View Now | St Thomas

81C presents Lovely Letters by Indra Lovely - on view through May 2026 in the STT main gallery.
Gallery hours Tuesday-Saturday 5-8pm | The artist is present Fridays 5-8pm. Thank you

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Lovely Letters by Indra Lovely is a series of abstracted compositions that move between memory and material, translating emotional and sensory landscapes into layered visual form. Through textured surfaces, gestural line work, and saturated color fields, the artist constructs works that feel at once intuitive and deeply rooted—echoing the rhythms, atmospheres, and dreamy experiences of Caribbean life.
Rather than depicting place directly, these works operate as impressions—fragmented recollections of environment and identity that emerge through process. Hints of light and the vibrancy of cultural tradition surface and dissolve within compositions, creating a visual language that resists literal interpretation while remaining tied to the Virgin Islands. Each piece holds a physical presence shaped by mixed media layered to mirror the complexity of memory itself.
Indra Lovely’s multidisciplinary approach is evident in the fluidity of these works, where painterly gestures intersect with photographic sensitivity and material experimentation. The result is a body of work that feels both contemporary and familiar—an abstract vernacular grounded in Caribbean perspective.
In Lovely Letters, the gallery becomes a space of recognition. Viewers are invited into a field of shared experience, where personal histories and collective memory converge, and where the essence of home is not defined by image, but by feeling. -The Curators, 81C Arts, 2026

Opening reception 📸 3.27.26

07/04/2026

On View Now | STT | Weekdays 5-8PM
Meet the artist | Friday's 5-8PM
Through May 2026

"Lovely Letters by Indra Lovely is a series of abstracted compositions that move between memory and material, translating emotional and sensory landscapes into layered visual form. Through textured surfaces, gestural line work, and saturated color fields, the artist constructs works that feel at once intuitive and deeply rooted—echoing the rhythms, atmospheres, and dreamy experiences of Caribbean life."
-The Curators, 81C

Opening reception event pics 3.27.26

07/04/2026

25/03/2026

Oh snap, they’re back…. opening May 15th…

Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain expands the evolving Krankie universe into a dual-location experience spanning 81C in historic Charlotte Amalie and to the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus. This two-part presentation deepens the narrative and physical experience of the work—bridging gallery and academic environments to create a layered, immersive encounter with contemporary art in the Virgin Islands.

“Drawing from the American south small-town culture and nostalgia for the sensationalized monolithic star style fame of pre-internet times, Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain constructs a world that feels both intimately familiar and fundamentally distorted. It is less a story than a condition—one where fantasy and perception continuously rewrite one another.” -The Curators, 81C, Charlotte Amalie, 2026

Thank you to our incredible show sponsors for making this a reality VI Museum of Art and XIIID

Thank you Emily and Jenna - two remarkably hardworking artists who just don’t stop - we can’t wait to launch ❤️

08/03/2026

OPENING MAY 2026

81C has partnered with The University of the Virgin Islands 13D Research and Strategy Innovation Center to produce a dual-location immersive fine art experience coming this May, 2026.

Featuring artistic duo strawberriemilk and warmmilkwithsugar, the exhibition is supported in part by The Virgin Islands Museum of Art, One Communications, and VICA.

Taking place at 81C'S flagship gallery location in historic Charlotte Amalie and UVI's Orville E. Kean campus, the show aims to provide increased arts access to UVI students and foster groundbreaking contemporary fine art production quality in the Virgin Islands.

Sign up here for the March 19th info drop!
https://81cvi.com/art-on-view-now

University of the Virgin Islands One Communications United States Virgin Islands VI Council on the Arts 81C