Experience Middle of the Food Chain, the newest installment of Emily Braswell @strawberriemilk_ and Jenna Rees’ @warmmilkwithsugar evolving Krankie series — this immersive art exhibition is on view now through July 2026 at 81C and the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands on St. Thomas. Learn about the show @ link in bio or visit 81CVI.COM. Plan your visit today ❤️
DETAILS
Dual-Site Exhibition | Gallery Hours
81C St. Thomas — Tues-Sat 5-8PM
XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands — Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM
On View Through July, 2026 | St Thomas USVI
EXHIBITION SPONSORS INCLUDE:
Foundation For Contemporary Arts, One Communications, UVI, VI Museum of Art, VICA, XIIID
#stt #virginislands #usvirginisland #charlotteamalie #stthomasusvi
Cheers to the will to live and experience new chapters of life. I’ll be hosting another meditative stretch class in celebration of my upcoming birthday 🎉
See you all there and share the love 💛🌞
Milk hits STT 5.15.26 with an immersive dual-location fine art experience. Krankie II: Middle Of The Food Chain launches in Charlotte Amalie at 81C with proxy activations at the XIIID Innovation and Strategy Center at UVI.
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
EXHIBITION SPONSORS:Foundation For Contemporary Arts, One Communication, UVI, VI Museum of Art, VICA, XIIID
Join us opening night @81cvi 5PM-Midnight ❤️🥂
DJ @carbar.usvi | cash bar | free admission | artists present
This week, Student Art Show 2026 flies to St Croix for its Saturday April 18th opening reception!
Join us at @prosperity_farm_distillery 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)
@worthwhile.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 @carbar.usvi
@sakisacarello 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: @vichildrensmuseum 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.
Art On View Now | St Thomas @indra_lovely
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 @artscouncil_vi@onecommvi
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 📸 @zackzook 3.27.26
Oh snap, they’re back…. @strawberriemilk_@warmmilkwithsugar 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 @uvi_edu 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 @uvi_edu@artscouncil_vi@onecommvi@foundationforcontemporaryarts VI Museum of Art and XIIID
xtra special thanks to @tamrajames for the great ideas and supportive vision ✨
Thank you Emily and Jenna - two remarkably hardworking artists who just don’t stop - we can’t wait to launch ❤️
The Study 4evr ❤️
@arthousevi brings it monthly - The Study features live figure sketching and connective zen for our mental - pick up your April tickets today at our website before you see the words Sold Out. See you all at our next one on April 10th.
Thank you @brianissa@khyraimani@arthousevi for your commitment to this spirited community art series ❤️ 💥
.
.
.
📸 @zackzook
Opening March 27 | 81C St Thomas
“Lovely Letters is a visual collection of love letters to my home — St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Through abstraction, layered textures, line work, and mixed media, this body of work reflects the sensory and emotional landscape of growing up Caribbean. These pieces are not literal depictions, but impressions — fragments of memory, atmosphere, rhythm, and place translated into color and form.
This exhibition is rooted in the everyday moments that shape island identity: the familiarity of neighborhood streets, the cadence of local conversation, the vibrancy of Carnival season, the stillness of coastline views, and the quiet intimacy of community. Each work becomes a letter — a gesture of gratitude, nostalgia, and reflection — honoring experiences that feel both deeply personal and collectively shared.
I approach these compositions intuitively, allowing material, movement, and memory to guide the process. By blending contemporary abstraction with subtle references to uniquely Caribbean visuals, I aim to create works that feel fresh and reminiscent — inviting viewers to recognize pieces of their own story within mine.
Ultimately, Lovely Letters is an offering. It is a celebration of place, belonging, and the emotional imprint of home. Through this exhibition, I hope viewers experience moments of recognition, warmth, and connection — reminders that the landscapes and communities that raise us continue to live within us, no matter where life carries us”
—Indra Lovely | March 2026 | Charlotte Amalie
📆 March 11, 2026.
⏰ 5-8pm.
🔆 @81cvi x @worthwhile.baggage .
👛 Wearable Art Pop Up Exhibition. 📍 St. Thomas, USVI.
🌙 One night only.
Act II of Worthwhile Baggage reflects the evolution of a self taught mixed media artist whose work transforms analog sound materials, found objects, + repurposed elements into one of a kind purse + carry sculptures. Created while in residence in the Virgin Islands, this body of work embraces limited access as a catalyst, challenging convenience + refining ingenuity. Working with what can be sourced, salvaged, or rediscovered, each peace (sp) carries memory while adapting to place. Nature and environment influence structure as much as story, shaping both material decisions and mindset. Presented at 81C, Act II grounds Washington, DC roots within a practice sharpened + expanded by its surroundings.
