Heather Williams was born in St. Croix US Virgin Islands and raised in Brooklyn , NY. 

She earned a Masters in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts in 2020.  She has been awarded the Paula Rhodes memorial award for exceptional achievement in MFA Art Practice. Her short film, Safe Passage was awarded honorable mention at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. She has also been awarded residencies at Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation (ESKFF) at Mana Contemporary, ArtCrawl Harlem at Governors Island, NY and a Sustainable Arts Fellowship at Gallery Aferro, NJ. She has exhibited in many group exhibitions including Material Matters at Kenkeleba Gallery in NY, and solo shows Damage and Repair at Akwaaba Gallery in Newark, NJ, Protective Spirits at The Bridge Art Gallery, NJ, Safe Passage in Conversation with Her Flowers installation at Kean University. Also Montclair Museum, Monmouth Museum and many others.  Her sculptures and abstract paintings are in many collections which include The Colored Girls Museum, PA and work commissioned by The Newark Museum.

Artist Statement

I describe my art practice as a love letter to the quiet and intrinsically powerful Black woman—a reflection of myself, those who came before me, and the collective experiences that connect us. This letter is not written in words. It unfolds through my paintbrush, clay, the camera, and the intuitive process of making, often accompanied by music. It is an act of remembrance, an acknowledgment of strength, and an exploration of the complexities that exist within us. As a multidisciplinary artist, I work across abstract painting, sculpture, and film, creating multilayered, textured works filled with movement that reflect the intricate relationships between memory, identity, history, and the human experience.

In my painting series Damage and Repair, I incorporate torn paper, gestural markings, collage, and found objects into richly saturated, textured surfaces. Influenced by the Nichiren Buddhist principle of transforming poison into medicine, these works consider the possibility of transformation through adversity. Ruptures, scars, and imperfections become sites of beauty, resilience, and power.

My Witness sculptures stand as quiet sentinels, holding space for memory, observation, and the passage of time. Rooted in African ancestral lineage, these figures evoke connections to histories both remembered and lost. Similarly, my ongoing film series Safe Passage, initiated during the pandemic and social uprisings of 2020, reflects on the vulnerability, protection, and survival of the Black body. The work has evolved into an immersive installation, Safe Passage in Conversation with Her Flowers, bringing together questions of lineage, maternal care, remembrance, and the enduring search for safety.

Ultimately, my work is an offering—a meditation on our capacity to endure, transform, and heal, and a testament to the quiet power of being seen.

2022 Solo Show at Akwaaba Gallery