This project, initiated by the Waterloo Center for the Arts (WCA) in cooperation with filmmaker Karen Arthur and The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, seeks to raise the profile of Bahamian art, bringing the work of Bahamian art to new audiences. Through this art there is a glimpse into the rich texture of Bahamian life and culture which exists beyond the beaches.

Above, John Cox, who is in Iowa for the Master Artists of the Bahamas Exhibition and Symposium, checks out the sculptures created by Antonius Roberts during a week-long residency at the University of Northern Iowa. The sculptures are created out of reclaimed wood from Sans Souci Island and they memorialize the effects of the devastating flooding that occurred in 2008.

“Master Artists of The Bahamas” Exhibit will run from October 14, 2011 through January 2012 at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts (WCA) in Iowa.  The exhibit will feature over 40 pieces of artwork by a diverse group of Bahamian artists, including the late Amos Ferguson, Brent Malone and Jackson Burnside as well as contemporary artists Antonius Roberts, Dave Smith, Eddie Minnis, John Beadle, John Cox and Kendal Hanna, Max Taylor and Stan Burnside.