Our Soil, beyond materiality is curated by Alexandra Santos Ocasio of the Soil Museum of the Caribbean and Arte-Suelo-Ser along with Margaret Mair, Carmen Gonzalez, Kimberly Santiago, Thais Ortiz, Suhey Cruz and Zoelie Rivera. The team includes curators, artists, scientists and participating farmers.

Our Soil, beyond materiality is a multidisciplinary exhibition combining art and science and intra-Caribbean collaboration. The exhibition examines our relationship to soil through two central themes: soil health as it connects with our bodies, territories and ancestors, and working with soil as an act of freedom.

Multidisciplinary artists, scientists, and farmers will present scientific soil analysis in the form of microscope photographs, soil samples presented in monoliths, soil soundscapes, pottery, soil pigment, film and compost as mediums. The exhibition seeks to breathe life into scientific analysis and emphasize that protecting the soil is an act of resistance and a reaffirmation of freedom.

This exhibition celebrates dialogues on freedom through CMCArts' annual Dialogues on Freedom Series and the shared histories between St. Croix, USVI and Puerto Rico and the recognized USVI holiday of Virgin Islands / Puerto Rico Friendship day that also encapsulates the complicated histories of Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples Day.

This project reinforces the bonds between people and natural resources fostering meaningful change toward sustainability, conservation, art and science and our ability to partner and collaborate with one another through issues and topics that affect us all.

Participating artists Jaime Suárez, Heidi Anne Vera, Nora Alvarez, Nora Álvarez Berríos, Yamileth Flores, Carola Cintrón Moscoso, Luca Gasperi, and farmers and collaborators from St. Croix and Puerto Rico are also considered artistic contributors to the project and include several collaborators from each territory. Soil research installations by Arte-Suelo-Ser, and films by Margaret Mair, Rina Otero, Alana Toro-Ramos and Omar Iloy, Carola Cintrón Moscoso and Eric Appeldoorn Sanders are also a main component of the exhibition.

The exhibition also includes scientific contributions by Nohely Reyes Pérez, Luis Miguel de Jesús, Jacqueline Vega, Manuel Matos, Zoelie Rivera-Ocasio, Yomaries González, Eric Appeldoorn, and Carola Cintrón from the Soil Museum of the Caribbean initiatives. 

This project is funded in part by the USDA-NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service - A Government Agency) and the Caribbean Culture Fund

The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts) presents the Spring Equinox exhibition, a celebration of the creativity, culture, and artistic excellence of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following two successful exhibitions in St. Croix, this third edition marks the series' debut in St. Thomas. On view at CMCArts' new St. Thomas location from July through early November, the exhibition showcases work created exclusively by artists from across the Virgin Islands from emerging talents to established names reflecting the diversity and evolving spirit of the local creative community.

Created and curated by Lucien Downes, Spring Equinox is rooted in a commitment to giving Virgin Islands artists meaningful opportunities to exhibit their work, connect with the community, and celebrate the territory's artistic heritage. Through this ongoing series, Downes continues to champion local artists and build a platform where creativity, culture, and community converge. CMCArts is proud to support this mission-aligned exhibition.

As CMCArts expands into St. Thomas, this exhibition marks a new chapter in connecting audiences across the Virgin Islands through art — inviting visitors to experience the voices, perspectives, and talents that make the territory's art scene unique.