About the Artist
Bio
Deborah McDuff Williams is a multi-talented artist whose training, extensive travel, and lived experience have given her the tools to reflect on life and society from a unique, highly textured perspective. Deborah was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She received a BA from Antioch University and an MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University. Sensitive to waste, she frequently employs used, natural, or found objects and materials to visually communicate researched stories about the plight or achievements of the human experience. Recognizing that people learn and perceive differently, McDuff often amplifies her visual messages through poetry. Reviewers have characterized her work as “thought-provoking,” “inspirational,” “empathic,” “timeless,” and “amazing.” The goal is to make her audience aware of human suffering and social injustices.
Art
McDuff’s art has been exhibited in local, regional, national, and
international venues, juried or invitational. She was also invited
to a multi venue exhibit at the 40 th Anniversary of Ntozake
Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide
When the Rainbow Isn’t Enuf” organized by the Schomburg
Library in Harlem, New York. Examples of her textile art were
selected to be included in the “World of Threads” Exhibition,
Toronto, Canada. “Remember Me,” a pregnant Madonna from
her Kente Adorned collection, was purchased by Seton Hall
University as part of its permanent collection of iconic art. Her
“Impact on Innocence: Mass Incarceration,” has been exhibited
at UMass Amherst, ConnCAT, Southern Connecticut State
University, The Los Angeles Museum of Social Justice, and the
Palm Springs Museum. Her most recent exhibit “Stolen, River
Routes to Freedom” was shown at the Center for Social Justice
and Civil Liberties in Riverside, California. “Desert Views” was
exhibited at the La Quinta Museum.
Deborah founded and directed the Museum of Cultural
Diversity in Carson, California, and created the Dixwell Avenue
Children’s Art Festival, in New Haven, Connecticut. Deborah
built from ground up Art n Barbee, a barbecue restaurant and
art gallery in the Hillhurst area of Los Angeles to showcase
culturally diverse visual and performance artists in a venue
offering multicultural cuisine. Deborah served on boards; Long
Beach Arts Council, Loyola Marymount University Extension,
Creative Arts Workshop and ConnCAT. She has been a member
of New Haven chapter, Boston chapter and is currently an alum
member of the San Bernardino/Riverside chapter of the Links
Inc.
Deborah is committed to quality and unique one of a kind designs. She repurposes materials and turns them into a new detailed creation.
Awards & Media
She won the Entrepreneur Award for Women in Action AWED, featured Artist African Marketplace, Third Place award, Boston College, Sweet Mother Woman of Distinction for the Arts, Palm Springs Black History Committee Award, and Congressional certificates. Deborah’s art and art-related achievements have received media attention in newspapers, magazines, and on television in California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Some of her art images and poetry have appeared in Yale University’s Caduceus Magazine and the Connecticut Review.