2024 Featured Artist – Charles Edward Williams
Untitled (Georgetown)
Charles Edward Williams is a contemporary visual artist from Georgetown, South Carolina. He holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia and an MFA from the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). Williams’ influence extends beyond his role as a visual artist and filmmaker. He is also a dedicated educator, serving as the Endowed Associate Chair of the Fine Art Department and a Professor of Drawing and Painting at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). His influence was further demonstrated when he was selected as the featured artist for the 35th Annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show in Georgetown, South Carolina, notably as the first African American artist for this prestigious honor. Recently, he was honored to speak at the 225th Anniversary of the Georgetown Public Library entitled, “Spirit of Homeland,” in Georgetown, South Carolina.
Williams ‘ work has garnered international recognition, transcending national borders. He has attended summer artist residencies at prestigious institutions such as Otis College of Art and Design (CA), SOMA (Mexico City, Mexico), the Gibbes Museum (SC), and the McColl Center for Art + Innovation (NC). His solo exhibitions, including “Sun + Light,” “I Sit and Sew,” “Sun + Light,” and “Black River,” have been showcased at renowned art institutions such as the Cameron Art Museum (NC), Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) (UT), Gibbes Museum of Art (SC), Delaware Art Museum (DE), Alabama Contemporary (AL) and, Cerritos College (LA). His work has also been exhibited at distinguished art fairs such as Aqua and Scope Art Fair / Art Basel (FL) and Texas Contemporary Art Fair (TX).
Group exhibitions have included the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (CT), David C. Driskell Center of the University of Maryland (MD), Kunstraum Potsdam (Berlin, Germany), Barnes Foundation & Rush Arts Foundation (PA), Post Collapse Art (Zurich, Switzerland), Nasher Museum of Art (NC) and other domestic institutions. Works have been reviewed in local and national publications and media, including the Washington Post, NPR, and South Carolina’s ETV network (PBS affiliate). During Williams’ ongoing residency at Pike School of Art (MS), he created the project FORWARD, which the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Ruth Foundation for the Arts partly supported.
Permanent collections include the North Carolina Museum of Art (NC), the Gibbes Museum (SC), Georgia Museum of Art (GA), Knoxville Museum of Art (TN), Delaware Art Museum (DE), Mississippi Museum of Art (MS), Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (NC), and the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art (NJ). As the Founder, Creative, and Educational Director of the CEW Collaborative in Coastal Communities, Williams has an arts and education organization to assist youth in achieving higher education, work program development, and creative entrepreneur opportunities. Williams received the Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Award from the State of South Carolina for developing enriching art programs within local communities.
In May 2023, Williams formally implemented his vision for providing an arts education program in Georgetown and Pawleys Island, SC. This program has now evolved into a 501c3 non-profit organization, CEW Collaborative. Once SCAD was aware of the Collaborative, they became the organization’s first partner with a significant donation. This allowed Williams to gather a team and a Board of Directors. The CEW Collaborative was awarded an operational grant from the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation and from other donors, including the Pawleys Island Music & Art Festival. The organization launched its first project this year with five art students will also include a traveling exhibit of their work.