Spelman College Museum of Fine Art is pleased to announce Amanda Williams: We Say What Black This Is, an exhibition showcasing oil and watercolor paintings by Amanda Williams, a Chicago-based, MacArthur award-winning artist. Trained as an architect, Williams uses her expertise to interrogate systemic racism through the lens of spatial dynamics. The exhibition features work from her series "What Black Is This You Say?" created in response to the "Blackout Tuesday" social media call to post a solid black square in protest of police brutality in 2020. With a range of abstract paintings in the same square format as the Instagram grid, rich in texture and hue, alongside intimately scaled watercolors that incorporate handwritten notes and phrases, Williams explores cultural, social, and political dimensions of Black identity, particularly how Black spaces are formed, defined, and erased. Central to Williams' work is the interplay between color and language. Her titles, infused with Black vernacular, forge immediate connections with Black audiences, turning colloquial expressions into tools for critiquing oppressive systems and celebrating the beauty and complexity of Blackness.
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