STATEMENT
This week, I have been mostly painting...
Biography
Chiara Williams is an artist and former curator with 25 years experience working in the art world, both in private and public sectors; after curating over 80 exhibitions and working directly with over 500 artists, she now focuses solely on her own practice. She has lived and worked in Margate, Kent, since 2017.
Key achievements include: co-founding the art gallery WW Contemporary Art (2008-2016) in Hackney, East London, before moving to premises in Hatton Garden; presenting the annual winner of the SOLO Award™ (2012-2019) in the Art Projects section of the London Art Fair; pioneering two collateral UK events at the 53rd & 54th Venice Biennales (2009 & 2011).
After relocating to Margate, Williams established DRY RUN, a salon for peer-to-peer critiques structured around presentations of work-in-progress. In 2018 she co-curated At the Violet Hour, an artist-led takeover of the semi-derelict Nayland Rock Hotel in Margate, as part of Turner Contemporary's Journeys with 'The Waste Land'. In 2018 - 2019 she guest curated the programme at LIMBO Margate, including PLUS ONE, a season of 7 exhibitions as part of the Turner Prize season.
Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at the 53rd & 54th Venice Biennales. Williams’s work is in the mima collection (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art), the Paintings in Hospitals Collection, as well as private collections in the UK, Italy, Russia, Germany and USA.
Her background includes 10 years as an HE and FE teacher and lecturer in art history, fine art, design, media and film, alongside working at the Venice Biennale, the British Council and Modern Art Oxford. She has an MFA & BFA from the University of Oxford (The Ruskin School of Art) and an MA in Audio-Visual Production from London Metropolitan University.
Key achievements include: co-founding the art gallery WW Contemporary Art (2008-2016) in Hackney, East London, before moving to premises in Hatton Garden; presenting the annual winner of the SOLO Award™ (2012-2019) in the Art Projects section of the London Art Fair; pioneering two collateral UK events at the 53rd & 54th Venice Biennales (2009 & 2011).
After relocating to Margate, Williams established DRY RUN, a salon for peer-to-peer critiques structured around presentations of work-in-progress. In 2018 she co-curated At the Violet Hour, an artist-led takeover of the semi-derelict Nayland Rock Hotel in Margate, as part of Turner Contemporary's Journeys with 'The Waste Land'. In 2018 - 2019 she guest curated the programme at LIMBO Margate, including PLUS ONE, a season of 7 exhibitions as part of the Turner Prize season.
Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at the 53rd & 54th Venice Biennales. Williams’s work is in the mima collection (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art), the Paintings in Hospitals Collection, as well as private collections in the UK, Italy, Russia, Germany and USA.
Her background includes 10 years as an HE and FE teacher and lecturer in art history, fine art, design, media and film, alongside working at the Venice Biennale, the British Council and Modern Art Oxford. She has an MFA & BFA from the University of Oxford (The Ruskin School of Art) and an MA in Audio-Visual Production from London Metropolitan University.
CV
training
2000 - 2002 MA Audio Visual Production, London Metropolitan University
1999 - 2001 PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of Education - Teaching Qualification)
1995 - 1998 MA & BA Fine Art, The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford
selected exhibitions and residencies
2024
(Two person) Birds not Bitches, Jemima Brown + Chiara Williams, LIMBO project space, 28/09/2024
(Group) Cycloptics - Space52 Athens, Greece, 1-30 Nov 2024
(Residency) Kairos - Glower, Orkney, May – June 2024
2023
(Residency) Family Tattoo - Travel residency in southeast asia, Jan – May 2023
2022
(Group) The Disoeuvre - Household Mix, Roseville, Ramsgate, 20 August - 18 September 2022
(Group) 'no relation (a piece of cake), Prosaic Projects, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, 13 May - 4th May 2022
(Group) (no relation) Prosaic Projects Gallery, Bloc Studios, Sheffield, 3 April - 4th May 2022
(Solo) PUSH PULL HOLD STILL, The Lido Stores, Margate, Kent, 24 March - 3 April 2022
(Group) 'A Woman's Place is Everywhere' Cello Factory, London 8 - 14 March 2022
(Group) 'Give me love' The Lido Stores, Margate, Kent, 5 - 20 Feb 2022
2020
(Group) WWAV, 3 person show at Gordon House, Margate, curated by Lucy Lyons for POW Thanet, March 2020.
(Group) Dish + Lid, Plus One Survey, LIMBO Margate, part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Jan 2020
2019
(Two person) The thickness of a new skin, LIMBO Margate, part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Nov 2019
(Curator) - Plus One Programme at LIMBO Margate part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Jan 2020
(Group) - POW! Painters, Limbo Project Space, Curated by Twinkle Troughton, 8 - 17 March
(Group & Curator) - LOVE-IN (a cold climate), Limbo Project Space, 14 - 24 February
2018
(Solo) 'A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE' , Liddicoat & Goldhill Project Space, The Printworks, Margate 7 September - 6 October.
(Group & Curator) At the Violet Hour, The Nayland Rock Hotel, Margate, part of Turner Contemporary's Journeys with 'The Waste Land' programme
2017
(Group) Margate Caves Secret Postcard exhibition
(Curator) The ships are always there, Chiara Williams Contemporary Art, Crate Space, Margate, UK
(Group) Littoral Light II 28 July 9pm - 10:30pm, Article 10, organised & curated by Sue Fletcher & Aidan Gray, Ramsgate, UK
(Group & Curator) Afternoon Tea 8 - 16 July 2017, Chiara Williams Contemporary Art, part of Margate Festival 2017, Margate, UK,
(Group) Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2008 – 2016
Limited independent exhibiting whilst director and curator at WW Contemporary Art 2008-2016, organiser of the SOLO Award 2012-2018, maternity leave and travel residencies 2014-2016.
2016 – 2015 The Red Van travelling residency throughout Europe, see website: http://redvan.weebly.com
2015 - Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2014 - Maternity leave
2013 - (Two person & Curator) Directors' Cut, WW Gallery, 30 October - 30 November
2013 - (Group) Together, curated by Enzo Marra 6th June-6th July 2013, Occupy My Time Gallery
2013 - (Group & Curator) NORTH SOUTH DIVINE at WW Gallery 3rd April – 11th May 2013
2013 - (Group & Curator) NORTH SOUTH DIVINE on tour at Platform-A Gallery, Middlesbrough 17th May - 20th June 2013
2012 - (Group) The Xmas BOGOF, WW Gallery, 19th – 22nd Dec 2012
2012 - (Group) 'Collectible' Zeitgeist Project Space, London April 2012
2012 - (Group & Curator) Diamond Geezer, group show at WW Gallery, May-June 2012
2011 - (Group) POW! | WW @ Crunch 2011 The Art & Philosophy Festival at Hay (18 - 20 Nov)
2011 - (Group) Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2011 - (Group & Curator) Afternoon Tea, 54th Venice Biennale, Collateral Exhibition, Venice, Italy (May-June)
2011 - (Group & Curator) Art Star Superstore Art Projects, London Art Fair (19-23 Jan)
2010 - (Group) Austerity Xmas BOGOF, WW Gallery, London (Dec)
2010 - (Group & Curator) Time WW Gallery, London (May-July)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Both Ends Burning, WW Gallery, London (Nov-Dec)
2009 - (Group) Noise of Art, East End Arts Club, London (Sept)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Travelling Light, WW Gallery/Pharos gallery, London and 53 rd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (May - June).
2009 - (Group & Curator) PG: Parental Guidance, WW Gallery, London (March – April)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Mink Schmink, WW gallery, London (Jan-Feb)
2008 - ‘I Saw Three Ships', WW gallery, London (Nov-Dec)
2008 - ‘I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night', WW gallery, London (Sep-Oct)
IRLANDA ZANTONE > 2008 - 2009, various exhibitions
This was a year long art project during which time Chiara Williams worked and exhibited under the fictional pseudonym of Irlanda Zantone, producing a number of paintings and works on paper about identity, vanity and unattainable, idealised beauty.
awards / bursaries
a-n Bursaries 2022: Time Space Money bursary
collections / publications / selected press
Works held in mima collection (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and ‘Paintings in Hospitals' Collection, Kings College Hospital as well as several private collections in UK, Italy, Russia, Germany and USA.
2022 PODCAST: Chiara Williams - Vulnerability in life and art By Sarah Sniderman - https://podcast.app/chiara-williams-e203297419
2019 PODCAST: The Delphian Podcast Ep. 05 Chiara Williams March 2019
2018 The Times, Journeys with The Waste Land, Rachel Campbell-Johnston Feb 2
2018 The Telegraph: T.S. Eliot returns to Margate, Louisa Buck Feb 8
2018 Art Aesthetics Magazine: At the Violet Hour, CALUM COCKBURN Feb 5, 2018
2018 The World of Interiors
2018 The i Paper: Margate is a town buzzing with raw energy, Ben Alden-Falconer
2018 The Isle of Thanet News: At The Violet Hour exhibition in Nayland Rock attracts hundreds of visitors in first opening days, Kathy Bailes Feb 19 2018
2018 a-n The Artists Information Company: Why artists move: a guide to relocating, Dan Thompson, 27 February 2018
2013 Director's Cut, Anna McNay on Art Corpus
2013 North South Divine catalogue, 'Keeping it Real', Kate Brindley, director at mima and Arnolfini
2013 Paul Hobson for the Contemporary Art Society (Hobson's Choice, 12 April 2013)
2011 Resonance 104.4 FM with ALISN, preview discussion for EAO Goldsmiths conference on 24th November
2011 Meet the curators - Video interview with Axis https://youtu.be/8Qp-TZEnX8Q?si=fqI1e_5UkzIoNt5p
2011 Profile in State Magazine ‘Hackney's Art Beat' by Michaela Freeman
2011 Catalogue for ‘Afternoon Tea' collateral exhibition part of ‘UK at the 54th Venice Biennale', WW Gallery.
2009 Catalogue for ‘Travelling Light' collateral exhibition part of ‘UK at the 53rd Venice Biennale', WW Gallery.
2000 - 2002 MA Audio Visual Production, London Metropolitan University
1999 - 2001 PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of Education - Teaching Qualification)
1995 - 1998 MA & BA Fine Art, The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford
selected exhibitions and residencies
2024
(Two person) Birds not Bitches, Jemima Brown + Chiara Williams, LIMBO project space, 28/09/2024
(Group) Cycloptics - Space52 Athens, Greece, 1-30 Nov 2024
(Residency) Kairos - Glower, Orkney, May – June 2024
2023
(Residency) Family Tattoo - Travel residency in southeast asia, Jan – May 2023
2022
(Group) The Disoeuvre - Household Mix, Roseville, Ramsgate, 20 August - 18 September 2022
(Group) 'no relation (a piece of cake), Prosaic Projects, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, 13 May - 4th May 2022
(Group) (no relation) Prosaic Projects Gallery, Bloc Studios, Sheffield, 3 April - 4th May 2022
(Solo) PUSH PULL HOLD STILL, The Lido Stores, Margate, Kent, 24 March - 3 April 2022
(Group) 'A Woman's Place is Everywhere' Cello Factory, London 8 - 14 March 2022
(Group) 'Give me love' The Lido Stores, Margate, Kent, 5 - 20 Feb 2022
2020
(Group) WWAV, 3 person show at Gordon House, Margate, curated by Lucy Lyons for POW Thanet, March 2020.
(Group) Dish + Lid, Plus One Survey, LIMBO Margate, part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Jan 2020
2019
(Two person) The thickness of a new skin, LIMBO Margate, part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Nov 2019
(Curator) - Plus One Programme at LIMBO Margate part of Turner Contemporary Turner Prize Programme, Jan 2020
(Group) - POW! Painters, Limbo Project Space, Curated by Twinkle Troughton, 8 - 17 March
(Group & Curator) - LOVE-IN (a cold climate), Limbo Project Space, 14 - 24 February
2018
(Solo) 'A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE' , Liddicoat & Goldhill Project Space, The Printworks, Margate 7 September - 6 October.
(Group & Curator) At the Violet Hour, The Nayland Rock Hotel, Margate, part of Turner Contemporary's Journeys with 'The Waste Land' programme
2017
(Group) Margate Caves Secret Postcard exhibition
(Curator) The ships are always there, Chiara Williams Contemporary Art, Crate Space, Margate, UK
(Group) Littoral Light II 28 July 9pm - 10:30pm, Article 10, organised & curated by Sue Fletcher & Aidan Gray, Ramsgate, UK
(Group & Curator) Afternoon Tea 8 - 16 July 2017, Chiara Williams Contemporary Art, part of Margate Festival 2017, Margate, UK,
(Group) Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2008 – 2016
Limited independent exhibiting whilst director and curator at WW Contemporary Art 2008-2016, organiser of the SOLO Award 2012-2018, maternity leave and travel residencies 2014-2016.
2016 – 2015 The Red Van travelling residency throughout Europe, see website: http://redvan.weebly.com
2015 - Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2014 - Maternity leave
2013 - (Two person & Curator) Directors' Cut, WW Gallery, 30 October - 30 November
2013 - (Group) Together, curated by Enzo Marra 6th June-6th July 2013, Occupy My Time Gallery
2013 - (Group & Curator) NORTH SOUTH DIVINE at WW Gallery 3rd April – 11th May 2013
2013 - (Group & Curator) NORTH SOUTH DIVINE on tour at Platform-A Gallery, Middlesbrough 17th May - 20th June 2013
2012 - (Group) The Xmas BOGOF, WW Gallery, 19th – 22nd Dec 2012
2012 - (Group) 'Collectible' Zeitgeist Project Space, London April 2012
2012 - (Group & Curator) Diamond Geezer, group show at WW Gallery, May-June 2012
2011 - (Group) POW! | WW @ Crunch 2011 The Art & Philosophy Festival at Hay (18 - 20 Nov)
2011 - (Group) Oli Bennett Secret Cards, Westminster School in London (June)
2011 - (Group & Curator) Afternoon Tea, 54th Venice Biennale, Collateral Exhibition, Venice, Italy (May-June)
2011 - (Group & Curator) Art Star Superstore Art Projects, London Art Fair (19-23 Jan)
2010 - (Group) Austerity Xmas BOGOF, WW Gallery, London (Dec)
2010 - (Group & Curator) Time WW Gallery, London (May-July)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Both Ends Burning, WW Gallery, London (Nov-Dec)
2009 - (Group) Noise of Art, East End Arts Club, London (Sept)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Travelling Light, WW Gallery/Pharos gallery, London and 53 rd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (May - June).
2009 - (Group & Curator) PG: Parental Guidance, WW Gallery, London (March – April)
2009 - (Group & Curator) Mink Schmink, WW gallery, London (Jan-Feb)
2008 - ‘I Saw Three Ships', WW gallery, London (Nov-Dec)
2008 - ‘I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night', WW gallery, London (Sep-Oct)
IRLANDA ZANTONE > 2008 - 2009, various exhibitions
This was a year long art project during which time Chiara Williams worked and exhibited under the fictional pseudonym of Irlanda Zantone, producing a number of paintings and works on paper about identity, vanity and unattainable, idealised beauty.
awards / bursaries
a-n Bursaries 2022: Time Space Money bursary
collections / publications / selected press
Works held in mima collection (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and ‘Paintings in Hospitals' Collection, Kings College Hospital as well as several private collections in UK, Italy, Russia, Germany and USA.
2022 PODCAST: Chiara Williams - Vulnerability in life and art By Sarah Sniderman - https://podcast.app/chiara-williams-e203297419
2019 PODCAST: The Delphian Podcast Ep. 05 Chiara Williams March 2019
2018 The Times, Journeys with The Waste Land, Rachel Campbell-Johnston Feb 2
2018 The Telegraph: T.S. Eliot returns to Margate, Louisa Buck Feb 8
2018 Art Aesthetics Magazine: At the Violet Hour, CALUM COCKBURN Feb 5, 2018
2018 The World of Interiors
2018 The i Paper: Margate is a town buzzing with raw energy, Ben Alden-Falconer
2018 The Isle of Thanet News: At The Violet Hour exhibition in Nayland Rock attracts hundreds of visitors in first opening days, Kathy Bailes Feb 19 2018
2018 a-n The Artists Information Company: Why artists move: a guide to relocating, Dan Thompson, 27 February 2018
2013 Director's Cut, Anna McNay on Art Corpus
2013 North South Divine catalogue, 'Keeping it Real', Kate Brindley, director at mima and Arnolfini
2013 Paul Hobson for the Contemporary Art Society (Hobson's Choice, 12 April 2013)
2011 Resonance 104.4 FM with ALISN, preview discussion for EAO Goldsmiths conference on 24th November
2011 Meet the curators - Video interview with Axis https://youtu.be/8Qp-TZEnX8Q?si=fqI1e_5UkzIoNt5p
2011 Profile in State Magazine ‘Hackney's Art Beat' by Michaela Freeman
2011 Catalogue for ‘Afternoon Tea' collateral exhibition part of ‘UK at the 54th Venice Biennale', WW Gallery.
2009 Catalogue for ‘Travelling Light' collateral exhibition part of ‘UK at the 53rd Venice Biennale', WW Gallery.
