Antonia Wright facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antonia Wright
Antonia Wright by photographer Monica McGivern
Born	Antonia Wright 1979 (age 45–46) Miami, Florida, US
Nationality	Cuban - American
Occupation	Performance artist, poet, photographer, installation and video artist
Known for	"State of Labor" (2022)

Antonia Wright is a Cuban-American artist. She was born in Miami, Florida, in 1979. Wright creates art using many different forms. These include video, performance, installations, and sculptures. Her art often looks at strong feelings, control, and how power works in society. One art expert said that the human body is the main focus of her work.

In 2022, Gotham Magazine named her one of "11 Artists Leading the Country's Cultural Conversation Right Now." This was for her art that addresses important social issues.

About Antonia Wright's Education

Antonia Wright studied poetry at The New School. She earned a special degree called an MFA in 2005. She also trained to be a photographer. She studied at the International Center of Photography in New York City. She finished her photography studies in 2008.

More recently, in 2024, Wright earned another MFA degree. This one was in Art Practice from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Antonia Wright's Art Career

Since 2009, Antonia Wright has been doing a long-running art piece. It is called "Are You OK?" For this project, she goes into cities and cries. She then records how people passing by react to her.

Famous Art Projects

In 2013, Wright created a video artwork called "Be". In this video, she was covered in 15,000 bees. She was also doing the slow, flowing movements of tai chi. Later that year, during Art Basel Miami, Wright performed "Suddenly We Jumped (Breaking the Glass Ceiling)". For this piece, she threw herself, without clothes, through sheets of glass. This performance took place at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. It was inspired by the art movement called Futurism.

In 2021, Wright showed her artwork called “Not Yet Paved”. This was at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in Florida. For this piece, she turned a concrete mixer truck into a musical instrument. The truck played the song "Young, Latin, and Proud" by musician Helado Negro.

Wright's art has been reviewed in major publications. These include The New York Times and Artforum. She also helps lead several important organizations. .....

In 2022, Wright gave a public talk. She introduced a new digital art project called Women in Labor. This project was shown at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Wright discussed how artists and curators who support women's rights think about personal health choices. They talked about these issues after a big change in laws in the United States.

Exhibitions and Art Shows

Antonia Wright's art has been shown in many places. She has had both solo shows and group exhibitions.

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

In 2016, she showed her video "Under the Water Was Sand, Then Rocks, Miles of Rocks then Fire". This was at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. The video showed the artist walking on and falling into a frozen lake. This was inspired by a real event from her childhood. She once fell into a frozen reservoir near Boston. The art show also included special lights and jasmine plants.

In 2017, Antonia Wright created an installation called Control. This was at Spinello Projects. The artwork used metal barriers, like those used for crowd control. People who wanted to see the art had to sign a paper. This paper said the gallery was not responsible if anyone got hurt. Wright was inspired to create this work by seeing many barriers in Brooklyn, New York. She had been living there during an art residency.

Wright's solo show “I came to see the damage that was done and the treasures that prevail” opened in 2022. It was at Spinello Projects in Miami, Florida. This show was her artistic response to changes in laws about personal health choices.

In 2024, the Pérez Art Museum Miami presented Antonia Wright: State of Labor. This was a special sound art piece. It was created in response to a 2022 decision by the United States Supreme Court. This decision changed a 1973 law about personal health decisions. Wright's sound art piece used information about personal freedom and health choices. The piece talked about what happened after the new law was reviewed. It focused on states where there are now complete or partial bans on certain health care options. The museum explained that the sounds in Wright's work are very personal. They show the real-life effects of the Supreme Court's decision. For example, Wright's art touches on stories of people needing to travel to other states for care. It also talks about having to continue a pregnancy that is not wanted or is harmful.

Group Exhibitions

Antonia Wright's art has been part of many group shows. Some of these include:

• “You Know Who You Are: Recent Acquisitions of Cuban Art from the Jorge M Pérez Collection” at El Espacio 23, Miami, FL (2023).
• “Sinking Feeling” at Or Gallery in Vancouver, Canada (2023).
• “On the Horizon" at The Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tennessee (2022).
• “#fail” at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, Louisiana (2022).
• “Counter-Landscapes” at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona (2019).
• “Energy Charge: Connecting to Ana Mendieta” at the ASU Art Museum.

Where Antonia Wright's Art is Kept

Antonia Wright's artworks are part of several important art collections. These are permanent collections, meaning the art stays there. Her work can be found in the collections of:

• Martin Z. Margulies
• El Espacio 23
• The Lotus House Shelter
• Pérez Art Museum Miami
• The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach
• NSU Art Museum in Ft. Lauderdale

Awards and Recognition

In the fall of 2015, Wright was an artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works. This is an art center in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Wright was one of three artists to win the Miami New Times's MasterMind award.

In 2022, during Miami Art Week, Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares won an award. They received the No Vacancy Juror’s Choice Award. This was for their public artwork on the beach outside the Faena Hotel.

Wright also won the Ellies 2022 Creator Award. She was a finalist for the CINTAS Foundation Fellowship in 2021. This award is for artists with Cuban heritage. In 2019-2020, she won a South Florida Cultural Consortium Award. She has also been featured in New York Magazine. The article talked about new art scenes in New York City.

Antonia Wright's Impact

In April 2012, Wright started an artist-in-residence program. This program was at the Lotus House Shelter in Miami, Florida. She lived there for one month as part of the program.