Art at the Heart of the Lowcountry: A Portrait of Georgetown Artist Charles Williams

By Ashley Daniels

Contemporary visual artist Charles Edward Williams grew up in Georgetown, South Carolina, with a passion manifested from his paintbrush that recreates the lovely landscapes and faces of the Lowcountry.

At 40 years old, after years of being a leading innovator in the international art community, Williams is honored to be named the first African American featured artist at the 35^th annual 2024 Georgetown Wooden Boat Show.

“For me, it’s a dream come true,” says Williams. “I think it’s because I’ve been looking back and reflecting on all of those memories and moments of me exploring the HarborWalk and Front Street … Just sharpening my eyes and observing. The Lowcountry is really rich in spirit with people and the landscapes, and I was able to take in and, in my solitude, put it on canvas. It really helped to shape me into the person I am today.

“I’m very honored to be representing Georgetown and all of the years of continuing to be a part of the community,” he continues. “With this opportunity, I want people to see how perseverance, observation, and exploration can come into play and how I continue to use that within my personal life and in my artistic practice. … I like activating the sense of curiosity because I think that people don’t do that enough. As I’ve gotten older, it’s even more important to preserve a childlike manner that we all have.”

Williams shares that, in high school, his mother was his biggest advocate to help him get exposed to the art world by prospecting businesses and galleries to allow him to showcase his art. Her efforts paid off, as Williams earned scholarships and funding to attend Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where he earned a BFA. He then earned an MFA from the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) and went on to attend artist residencies across the country, including Mexico City, Mexico.

He also boasts an impressive list of group exhibitions and permanent collections worldwide, which have included the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Connecticut, Kunstraum Potsdam in Berlin, Germany, Post Collapse Art in Zurich, Switzerland), the North Carolina Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Art, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art in New Jersey, and many more.

It was while he was on a trip to Zurich that Williams conceived the idea of giving back and providing students the same opportunities he had in the arts. This was the genesis of his CEW Collaborative to teach middle and high school students how to hone their artistic skills based on the pillars of: discover, create, evolve together.

“The together part is very critical,” says Williams. “I’m working with a group of students who are selected or nominated by art teachers. I share with them that creative thinking is innovative thinking. … With my mother and her tenacity and perseverance, those are the attributes for the Collaborative.”

He elaborates further about the program, explaining that it is based on higher education learning for these students by integrating college-level material and a rubric with a project each year. Students are also introduced to entrepreneurial skills as they engage with the community and build their portfolios.

The CEW’s current project is “How to Build a Boat,” which involves a deep dive into the significance and history of boat-building in our area’s landscape. Students took a field trip to Cape Fear Community College, where they filmed a documentary on the process. The finished film will be exhibited at the South Carolina Maritime Museum in Georgetown on October 19th. The Georgetown Wooden Boat Show is Oct. 19-20.

In addition to his many responsibilities, Williams also works as a commission artist, has a studio in Durham, North Carolina, and serves as the associate chair of the fine arts department at UNC Central, where he also teaches painting.

For more information on or to support the CEW Collaborative, visit cewcollaborative.org. To learn more or see Williams’ work, visit charlesedwardwilliams.com or cewlandandsea.com.