Artist Statement
Diane Williams is a Filipinx interdisciplinary artist, living and working in Los Angeles, Ca.
Diane creates mixed-media, textile based, wall-hanging, suspended and free-standing sculptural weavings. In her work, she often asks how the Filipinx can contend with the impossibility of retrieving the stories of people who have been forgotten or omitted in history. Her research-based work addresses the archives and memory production as a source of legitimacy, relating to the legacies of colonialism and empire. She uses materials sourced from family and friends and weaves them into her work as a way of archiving their histories and narratives. She employs pre-colonial dyeing methods from plants endemic to the Philippines, food scraps and minerals to reconnect with her indigenous Filipinx culture.
Having been raised in the Philippines, Williams is not a mere observer, but an active participant in the artistic discourse around colonialism. Her practice is not a prescription for repair but a pathway to integrate Filipinx identity and culture into contemporary art and historical practice.
Education
2021 MFA - University of Southern California, USC
2013 BFA - California State University, Long Beach, CSULB
Solo Shows
2024 (De)Valued Existence: Reimagining Within the Margins, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Ca
2023 (De)Valued Existence, McNish Gallery, Oxnard College, Oxnard Ca
2021 The Mess of Empire, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Ca
2021 The Precarious Life of the Parol, USC Graduate Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2020 We Can, Adams Square Mini Park Gallery, Glendale, Ca
2019 Imagined Hybrid, Museum of Art and History MOAH-Cedar, Lancaster, Ca
2019 WE, Moorpark College, Moorpark, Ca
2018 Beautiful Creatures, Cerritos College Gallery, Cerritos, Ca
2018 INcongruence, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 My America, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 Beautiful Creatures, Social Study, Los Angeles, Ca
2013 To Fear The Uncanny, Gatov West Gallery, California State University, Long Beach, Ca
Residencies
2022 Camera Obscura Residency, Santa Monica, Ca
2019 LFCSA, Los Angeles, Ca
2018 Making Lightly | a communal residency, Atche Art Space, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 My America, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, Ca
Social Practice and Workshops
2024 Fiber Collage Workshop, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Ca
2023 Workshop at Muzeo, Anaheim, Ca
2023 Workshop, Oxy Arts, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Workshop, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Ca
2021 Reflecting From Home, USC Fisher Museum, Los Angeles, Ca
2020 Los Angeles Landscapes, Los Angeles, Ca
2018-2019 Connect to Disconnect, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 My America, community activation, MOAH, Lancaster, Ca
Lectures and Panel Discussions
2024 Visiting Artist Lecture, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Ca
2023 Visiting Artist Lecture, Oxnard College, Oxnard, Ca
2022 Garage Talk: Art + Immigration, artist panel discussion hosted by Define American, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Lecture, The Mess of Empire, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Ca
2021 CSSSA BIPOC Artist Panel Discussion, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Discover 10, Glendale Community College, Glendale, Ca
2021 Artist Presentation, USC Roski, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Artist Presentation, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Los Angeles, Ca
2019 Visiting Artist Presentation, Moorpark College, Moorpark, Ca
2017 Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House, Santa Monica, Ca
Performance and Public Art
2022-ongoing SOLIDARITY, public art commissioned for LAvsHate initiative, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Beaming in the Shadows, temporary public art installation commissioned by the City of Glendale, Ca
2021 The Afterlives, USC Graduate Building, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Come a Little Closer, 18th Street Art Center, Santa Monica, Ca
2018 Hybrid Altar, public art, Tarfest, Los Angeles, Ca
2018 BOUND, performance art, StartUp Artfair, San Francisco, Ca
Curatorial Projects and Art Organizing
2019 Through Places, a PØST Kamikaze show at MiM Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2018 Reimagining America, ace/121 Gallery, Glendale, Ca
2018 Making Lightly | a communal residency, Atche Art Space, Los Angeles, Ca
2018 Catalyze, Atche Art Space, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 State of the Union, Brainworks Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House, Santa Monica, Ca
2016 systems + process, Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles
Group Shows
2023 Rooted, Muzeo, Anaheim, Ca
2023 Invoking Autonomy, Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles, Ca
2022 Alien Race: envisioning sites for our future ancestors, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, Ca
2021 Hair-pulling Between Good and Evil, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, Ca
2021 Taking Up Space, Brea Gallery, Brea, Ca
2020 In Cahoots: Artists and Curators at USC Roski, UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, Ca
2020 Type, Golden West College GWC Gallery, Huntington Beach, Ca
2020 Last Round of Calafia: Manifesting Terrestrial Paradise, Steppling Gallery, CSUSD
2019 Calafia: Manifesting Terrestrial Paradise, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, Ca
2019 Outside Us, Seaver Gallery at Marlborough School, Los Angeles, Ca
2019 Woven Stories, Museum of Art and History MOAH, Lancaster, Ca
2018 Mexicali Biennial, Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum RAFFMA, San Bernardino, Ca
2018 With Liberty and Justice for Some, Children's Museum of the Arts, NYC
2018 Spell Check, PØST, Los Angeles, Ca
2018 Vernissage: Feminism Now, Grafiska Sällskapet, Stockholm, Sweden
2018 Diverted Destruction, Loft at Liz's, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel, Culver City, Ca
2017 WE: Visual Reflections of the American Experiment, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, Ca
2017 With Liberty and Justice for Some, San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries SFAC, San Francisco, Ca
2017 Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House Gallery, Santa Monica, Ca
2017 With Liberty and Justice for Some, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, Ca
2017 Here/There, part of Pacific Standard Time, FM Fine Arts, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 Faces in the Crowd, Avenue 50, Los Angeles, Ca
2017 Rainbow Shift 3.0, The Montalban, Hollywood, Ca
2016-2017 Change Is Gonna Come, Avenue 50 Studio Highland Park, Los Angeles, Ca
2016 Countenance Divine, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, Ca
2016 Satan's Disco, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, Ca
2016 A Feminist Perspective, MuzeuMM, Los Angeles, Ca
2016 Defend & Advance, National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles, Ca
2016 AAC Meets East West Players, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, Ca
2015 Back to the Roots: a Tribute to Richard Duardo, Autry Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Ca
2015 Creature Comforts, Art Share LA Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2015 From Her: An Exhibition by Women About Women, Pico House Gallery at El Pueblo L.A. Historical Monument, Los Angeles, Ca
2015 Pop Surrealism, Hale Arts Space, Santa Monica, Ca
2014 Figure-ing It Out, Werby Gallery, CSU Long Beach, Ca
2013 BFA Group Show, Gatov East and West, CSU Long Beach, Ca
2013 CSU Summer Arts, CSU Monterey, Seaside, Ca
2013 Progressive Views on Gender and Sexuality, Art Exchange, Long Beach, Ca
2013 Moments of Turbulence, Dutzi Gallery, CSU Long Beach, Ca
2013 Food, Dutzi Gallery, CSU Long Beach, Ca
Articles & Publications
2022 Carla, LA Harvest
2022 CBS News, New Rowland Heights tapestry seeks to address anti-Asian hate
2022 Laist, Artist Unveils Tapestry Designed To Represent LA's Diverse Cultures
2021 LA Weekly, Meet An Artist Monday
2021 Hyperallergic, How Cameras and Webcams Have Helped Us Bear Witness in 2020
2021 Artforum, USC Roski MFA Spotlight
2020 Eastsider LA, Glassell Park Students Create Art Through Community
2019 Artillery Magazine, Woman/Animal/Other
2018 Los Angeles Magazine, This L.A.-Based Artist Wants You to Consider Your Immigrant Status
2018 LA Post Examiner, Diane Williams displays her sense of self as an immigrant and woman of color
2018 Art and Cake, Randi Matushevitz and Diane Williams Confront Otherness Through Experience
2018 Voyage LA, Meet Diane Williams
2018 Art and Cake, Making Lightly: A Communal Residency at Atche Art Space
2017 LA Post Examiner, Diane Williams: My America
2017 Art and Cake, Diane Williams Weaves Multicultural Magic in “My America”
2017 We Choose Art, Diane Williams | My America
2017 Fabrik, Diane Williams | My America
2017 Fabrik, Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House Gallery
2017 Nailed Magazine, Artist Feature: Diane Williams
2017 LA ArtNews, Beautiful Creatures, Social Study
2017 LA Times Live, Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House Gallery
2017 Visual Art Source, Personal Narrative
2017 LAist, 20 Awesome Events Happening in Los Angeles This Week, Personal Narrative, Annenberg Beach House Gallery
2017 Huffington Post, With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel
2017 LA ArtNews, With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel
2017 PBS/KQED, With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel
2017 Art and Cake, State of the Union: Politically Charged to #resist
2017 LA Canvas, State of the Union, Brainworks Gallery
2017 Fabrik, Resistance Through Art: Brainworks Gallery Presents “State of the Union”
2017 Art and Cake, Walter Maciel Gallery Shines with Politics and Poetry
2016 Art and Cake, Change is Gonna Come, Avenue 50 Studio
2016 Art and Cake, Humpty Dumpty Fell, systems + process, Angel City Brewery
2016 Diversions LA, Satan’s Disco, ArtShare LA
2016 Art and Cake 9 Must-See Alternative Art Spaces in Los Angeles (contributor)
2016 LA ArtNews, AAC Meets East West Players, LA Artcore
2016 Art and Cake, 10 Los Angeles Artist Communities to Check Out (contributor)
2015 Lunch Ticket Publication, Artist Feature
2015 Poets & Artists Magazine, July Issue #66
2015 NELA Art News, Lummis Day
2015 Outwest Magazine, Lummis Day
2014 491 Magazine, Artist Feature, 9th Edition
2013 EYE ON ART: Art Exchange Exhibit Tackles Sexuality, Grunion Gazette Newspaper