April 2012.
Since April 2nd Miami-based artist and curator Antonia Wright started living at the Lotus House Women’s shelter for one month as an artist in residence in order to start her new artistic project. She has been living just as the other women do, with little belongings, as the Lotus House shelter serves over 100 women and children daily, most of who are there due to domestic violence, medical or health issues, loss of employment or disabilities, as well as other economic reasons.
Wright is creating a piece that reflects her experience living in the shelter. She says, “As a fortunate outsider, I strive to gain a deeper understanding of these issues, how they affect the less fortunate, and to increase awareness about homelessness. I see this month as a deep exercise in empathy. I do not know what the outcome of the stay will be, but I am open to its possibilities. Gandhi said, “You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results.”
The video art project Antonia is working on is called “Women Who Stand on The Sun”. She is filming each resident of the Lotus House with their feet up in the sky towards the sun so it looks like they are standing on the sun. When finished, the project will showcase on TV screens 20 different pair of feet standing on the sun. Antonia Wright combines photography, performance, poetry, video, installation and sculpture all into one art practice and uses them to investigate the universal human condition.
Wright graduated with an M.F.A. in poetry from the New School University in New York City, and has since travelled and showcased her innovative projects all over North America and Europe. Her achievements range from studying at the International Center of Photography, working with Patrick Demarchelier and showcasing exhibits in Europe and America. Wrights artistic talents have recently featured her in New York Magazines article, “The New Talent Show: Pot-Luck Culture,” as well as being name one of the “Young Miami artists making a mark in this Art Basel go around” by The Miami Herald.
Lotus House Shelter
www.lotushouseshelter.org
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