The Cane Roots Art Gallery in downtown Christiansted, St. Croix, will host a new exhibit, “Beads, Fabric, and Silhouettes: Generational Synergy,” running from April 17 through May 16. The opening reception Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. invites the public to meet the two featured artists, Elisa McKay and Pedra Chaffers, and explore the personal and cultural themes that uniquely describe their work.
For Chaffers, this exhibition marks more than a gallery showcase. “It’s a homecoming.”
Chaffers lived on St. Croix from 2001 to 2012, teaching at Good Hope School for eight years. Having grown up in Michigan, she has since made her mark in the art scenes of New York City and Washington, D.C. It was in D.C. where she first encountered a Yoruba exhibit that sparked her fascination with beads, not for traditional jewelry or textile work, but for their meaning.
“I was fascinated that the beads had colors that mean things — status, power,” Chaffers said. That interest evolved into a unique visual language, forming a signature style that weaves together cultural roots, the Caribbean, African heritage, carnival, beads, and bold color. Over time, her work has transitioned from full-faced portraits to parts of faces, emphasizing expression through fragments. Chaffers proudly holds her dual identity as both artist and art educator, infusing both roles into her creative process.
McKay, also no stranger to the local art scene on St. Croix, steps into a more prominent artistic role with this exhibit. Known for her long-standing creative work, including writing and interviewing artists, authors and culture-bearers, to name a few, McKay was inspired to expand her own artistic journey that began in the 1980s after witnessing the impact of her father’s retrospective work.
Moving beyond the African fabric-adorned greeting cards she creates, her first foray into larger pieces began with a 14×18 collage titled “Gathering of Women,” which debuted at a St. Croix Environmental Association fundraiser.
McKay’s collages often begin with photographs, particularly of historic ruins, and are layered with found materials, like shells and copper, that transform into a narrative of memory and heritage. Her work for this exhibit centers on themes of “family, generations, and the celebration of life”. She describes her figures as “faceless,” perhaps inviting viewers to see themselves in the silhouettes she constructs. Born and raised in Harlem, McKay hopes one day to create a piece honoring a cherished memory from her childhood: the Maypole.
McKay and Chaffers offer a complementary visual dialogue grounded in shared cultural reflection and a reverence for ancestral threads.
The community and art enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the opening night reception Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cane Roots Art Gallery and experience the vibrant intersection of beads, fabric, and silhouettes — woven through generations and reimagined through “materials you don’t see often.”
