Family Portrait

Sonia Nahar Deane was born in Guyana, South America – but she is blessed to have the cultures of Guyana and Suriname in her DNA. She migrated to New York City with her family at the age of 11.

Sonia holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Early Childhood Education from the City University of New York and has 30 years of experience as an educator. Her love of art began with illustrations in children’s books. She believed that children would first see themselves through beautiful images of themselves and the world.

She is an exuberant and passionate art collector as well as an enthusiast in the distillery and marketing of rums from every corner of the world. She fell in love with St Croix after several visits beginning in 1989. Since then, she has made St Croix another place she calls home – referring to the island as “the romanticism” of her youth. Her focus since moving to the island has been the rehabilitation of a 2,800 square foot building in the town of Christiansted, resulting in a complex of residences and an art gallery.

The art gallery, proudly named “Cane Roots Art Gallery” has fulfilled a decade long desire to merge her love for education and art into a space where collectors can appreciate and purchase art from around the world.