Gerald Williams (artist) facts for kids

Gerald Williams (born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1941) is an American visual artist. His art has been very important in the Black Arts Movement. This was a big art movement that started in the 1960s.

Williams was one of the artists who helped create AfriCOBRA. This was a group of artists who made powerful and colorful art. His artworks have been shown in famous museums. These include the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Besides being an artist, he also worked for the Peace Corps. He taught in schools in Chicago and Washington, D.C.. He also directed arts and crafts centers for the United States Air Force. In 2019, he received an honorary doctorate degree. This was from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He shared this honor with his AfriCOBRA co-founders, Jae Jarrell and Wadsworth A. Jarrell.

Learning and Art School

Gerald Williams finished Englewood High School in 1959. After high school, he first studied accounting at Roosevelt University. He then switched to art. He earned his associate degree in art from Woodrow Wilson Junior College. This school is now called Kennedy-King College.

After serving in the Air Force, he returned to Chicago in 1966. He took night classes at Loop College, now Harold Washington College. He also studied drawing at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1967, he studied art full-time at Chicago Teachers College. This is now Chicago State University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree there in 1969. In 1973, Williams moved to Washington, D.C. He joined the graduate program at Howard University. He earned his Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting from Howard in 1976.

Early Life and Art Journey

Gerald Williams was born in 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood. He lived with his parents and 10 brothers and sisters. His father worked in the steel mills.

In 1963, Williams joined the United States Air Force. He worked as an illustrator. He served at bases in San Antonio, Texas, and Tacoma, Washington. Later, he moved to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. He finished his military service there.

Williams came back to Chicago in 1966. He wanted to finish his art studies. He met an artist named Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson invited Williams to join a group of Black artists. They met weekly to talk about art. Williams soon realized another artist in the group, Wadsworth Jarrell, was his studio neighbor!

Over the next few years, Williams, Donaldson, Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, and Barbara J. Jones became the main members of AfriCOBRA. This group became one of the most important Black art movements. By 1970, more artists joined them. These included Napoleon Henderson and Nelson Stevens.

In 1969, Williams started teaching in Chicago Public Schools. He taught at Bradwell School of Excellence. He continued to work with AfriCOBRA. The group's ideas led to new artworks. They started showing their art together. Their first big show was "AfriCOBRA I: Ten in Search of a Nation." It was held at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

In 1973, Williams moved to Washington, D.C. He earned his MFA at Howard University. After that, he went to Nigeria as a delegate. This was for FESTAC 77, a big festival of Black and African arts.

Soon after returning, Williams joined the Peace Corps. He went back to Africa. He worked in Nairobi, Kenya. He helped students with disabilities create handicrafts. These items were sold in shops.

Williams finished his Peace Corps work in 1979. He had a solo art show in Nairobi. After Kenya, he traveled to several African countries. He showed his art in Dakar, Senegal. He then returned to Washington, D.C. He taught in public schools for four years.

In 1984, he started directing arts and crafts centers for the Air Force. He worked in South Korea for five years. Then he moved to Japan to direct a center at Yokota Air Base. He also worked at bases in Sumter, South Carolina, and Aviano, Italy. In 2001, he moved to Lajes Field in the Azores, Portugal. This was his last Air Force assignment.

In 2005, Williams retired in South Carolina. He focused fully on his art. In 2015, he moved back to Chicago. He still lives and works there today.

Art Shows and Collections

Gerald Williams' art has been shown all over the world. He has had solo shows at Chicago State University and the University of South Carolina. His work has also been part of group shows in famous museums.

Some of these shows include:

• Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power at the Tate Modern in London, England.
• The Freedom Principle at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
• AFRICOBRA in Chicago, shown at the South Side Community Art Center and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

He celebrated 50 years with AfriCOBRA in a special exhibition. This show traveled to the North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). It was also invited to the 58th Venice Biennale in Italy.

His art is also part of many private and museum collections. These include the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago and the Brooklyn Museum. His work is also in the collection of the Johnson Publishing Company. They published Ebony and Jet magazines.