March 15, 2022
Meghan O’Toole
Interdisciplinary artist Alexandra Antoine named 2022 Artist-in-Residence
The Artist-in-Residence Committee has selected Alexandra Antoine as the 2022 Artist-in-Residence. Antoine will reside on campus from March 20 to March 25 and return for a final discussion of her work on March 30.
Antoine is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist. Her work, which takes various forms from painted murals to food, draws on her Haitian culture and traditional artistic practices of the African diaspora. Antoine’s art has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
While she is on campus, Antoine will be speaking and working with students in various classes from design and performing arts to African American studies. “I’ll be focusing on food, visual arts, and culinary practices of the African diaspora with an emphasis on my Caribbean upbringing as a Haitian-American,” Antoine explained. “I’ve tailored my projects to fit each class, so we’ll be collaborating on product design related to food packaging, a communal meal that will involve guided questions and actions, and also an interactive talk about my research and ideas on the work I’m currently focused on.”
Antoine’s background as a farmer underscores her interest in food and the pivotal role it plays in various communities. The ability to share the different ways that food and art can come together and leave a lasting impression on others is what excites Antoine about this residency. “My desire is to connect with the students and staff at Lake Forest College in a way that is genuine for me, and that is through having a great meal, but I also want to expand on that and play around with how we can have those meals,” Antoine said of her residency project. “I’ll also be intentionally exposing the community to organizations and companies that are doing great work in various parts of the food industry in the Midwest, nationally, and globally.”
The residency will not only allow the Lake Forest College community to connect with art on a meaningful and impactful level, but also enrich Antoine’s work by allowing her to experiment with how art and food can create intentional communal spaces. “I am very much a person who listens to my inner being first and foremost, and I speak to my ancestors on a daily basis,” Antoine said. “When it comes to the work I create, I put no boundaries on what form the idea will take as I don’t like to limit creative energy. So if an idea wants to come out as a painting, then so be it. If it needs to be a traditional wood sculpture or mixed-media work then that is what it will be. What is most important for me when I’m working is to really hear the story, memory or practice that is desiring to come through.”
Antoine will be giving a talk at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30 in the Tarble Room at Brown Hall following the completion of the residency.
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