The Virgin Islands (VI) Outdoor Gallery of Arts and Culture which was scheduled for Monday, June 10 between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m, has not been postponed until June 17, 2024. Photo: GIS/File

Fourth District Representative and Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism, Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4) said the Territory must begin to look at how careers can be developed in the culture sector. Photo: VINO/File

This exhibition will be held at the St. Philip’s Anglican Church Ruins and Heritage Site and will highlight the work of senior secondary students who specialize in Technical Drawing and will display their reconstruction of the St. Philip’s Anglican Church.

The event was as part of efforts to build greater capacity in order to grow and develop heritage tourism in the Virgin Islands.

Fourth District Representative and Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism, Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4) said the Territory must begin to look at how careers can be developed in this sector as the Department of Culture is about to host a workshop titled, ‘Virgin Islands Built Heritage and the Art of Archaeological Reconstruction and the Restoration of Historical Buildings.’

Meanwhile, a workshop will also be held at the Cedar International School between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on June 10, 2024.

Workshop @ Cedar International School

Interested individuals, including professional architects and builders, are invited to the event that will be hosted by Dr. Katherine Smith, Dr. Allison Flax-Archer, and visiting archaeologist Dr. John Chenowith, who is the author of Simplicity, Equality and Slavery: An Archaeology of Quakerism in the British Virgin Islands, 1740-1790.

Director of Culture, Dr. Katherine Smith said, “We are looking forward to expanding on the various workshops we have offered to the schools and to the public in the areas of writing, visual arts, cultural dance, and museums, among others.”

Dr. Smith added, “This particular upcoming workshop on... is the beginning of targeted workshops which will build capacity in the Virgin Islands, enabling sustainable conservation, restoration, and the development of heritage sites and museums.”

The activities this year align with Policy Statement 3-2-7 of the ‘Virgin Islands Culture & Heritage Policy and Strategy 2023 – 2028’, emphasizing the documentation and preservation of traditional visual arts and craftsmanship and the development of the tangible heritage sector: museums and heritage sites.