by Read my article in the Washington City Paper.
I first encountered the ceramic and fabric work of Hadiya Williams in 2018. For a show at Woodlawn, the Virginia plantation previously owned by George Washington and his family, seven Black artists were invited to make on-site installations. Furniture, tapestry, and sculpture by local artists directed the focus to the enslaved people who built the mansion and made life at Woodlawn possible. Their stories were otherwise largely absent from typical museum tours.
Williams, a decorative artist and designer, was assigned to rethink Woodlawn’s dining room, which she turned into a multidimensional altar in collaboration with local creator and educator Risikat Okedeyi. Fabric table settings and handmade ceramic plates sat alongside typed menus and place cards that included a written timeline of slavery at the property and the country at large. West African prints and a restrained palette of blacks, whites, and browns contrasted with the ornate pieces permanently installed in the early 1800s mansion. The room was a portal with dozens of carefully chosen details at eye level.
Published 9/20/23
Tanya Paperny 