Antonius Roberts is embarking on a residency at The University of Northern Iowa in collaboration with their art department.
The residency is inspired in part by the Waterloo Museum curator’s experience of Antonius Roberts’ installation at Sacred Space and Welcome.
Waterloo community stakeholders and their Public Art Committee, they have asked Antonius to consider creating a piece that memorializes the effects of devastating flooding that occurred in Waterloo in 2008.
The flooding wiped out a couple of historic neighborhoods including a very special island community known as Sans Souci which was home to 20 families and which had, in earlier times been a thriving resort area.
Waterloo Museum will provide Antonius with wood from downed trees from the island and remnants of a gate and fence from the island – all that remains of what was once the first golf course in Waterloo – now just a wooded area on the island.
Since the floods, the island has been purchased by the City, the homes are being torn down, and it is anticipated that the entire island will become a park and nature preserve, where the works created by Antonius during his residency could be on permanent display.
“A lot of us, we tell our stories locally and we tell our stories through our work, but this gives us an opportunity to take our stories to the world. To me, making art outside of The Bahamas is really what I would love to do. It provides me an opportunity to take my story with me.“
Antonius will be making frequent updates on this project so please visit his website often.
