Virgin Islands Council on the Arts

The Virgin Islands Council on the Arts (VICA) is the territorial arts council of the U.S. Virgin Islands, established by the Virgin Islands Legislature in 1966 and reconfirmed in 1987, operating within the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Its nine-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature, draws four members each from St. Croix and St. Thomas and one from St. John, and awards an average of 150 grants totaling roughly $400,000 each year to schools, churches, craft artisans, culture bearers, authors, film and media productions, and individual visual and performing artists. VICA also organizes opportunities for Virgin Islands artists to take part in exhibitions and festivals abroad, including in Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana and Venice, and leads special initiatives such as Poetry Out Loud, The Big Read, the Congressional Arts Competition and an Artists in Residency Program. The Council maintains staff offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix and marks its 60th anniversary in 2026.