When he was a young metalworker collecting scraps from his family’s business for art experimentation, Willie Williams Jr. had no idea that one day he would start his own art studio in Birmingham.
Williams is a Birmingham, Alabama native, and for the last six years has owned and operated Studio 2500, the only Black-owned art gallery in the state.
“It’s grown tremendously,” Williams said. “We’ve done probably over 50 shows. We’ve invited probably over 100 artists from around the country — even as far as north Rhode Island and out west in California. We’ve been able to initiate some very historic and groundbreaking events. We’re making history in this region and in the state, particularly.”
However, Studio 2500 was a vision that took time for Williams to nurture and develop.
“I was in college studying art, getting serious about my craft as an artist,” Williams said. “And the major thought that I had during that time was, ‘When I get out, what am I going to do?’ and ‘How am I going to turn my college years or what I’ve learned in college into a career?’”
While Williams was in college, his family’s metalworking business had moved nearby in Birmingham.
“We were seriously doing metal fabrication, and we had moved to a new spot in north Birmingham,” Williams said. “And it just so happened to be big enough to do both fabricating and a studio. I kind of launched the idea even further than just a studio, but also the art gallery as well. And that’s when the idea started to conceptualize in late 2015.”
Williams then began to put a plan into action.
“I had to save money to start,” Williams said. “(I) had to develop a plan in between the time I conceptualized the idea and develop little milestones along the way till the plan came into being, and call loads of people that I knew to help me do it and also be a part of the first show ever.”
Studio 2500 put together a first show of 10 people and has grown tremendously since.
“We’ve grown in terms of being able to affect other artist careers by showing their work and especially first-time gallery exhibitors,” Williams said. “They’ve always come to us and we’ve always been one of the first stops for first time gallery exhibitors to come and show their work. And they’ve been thoroughly pleased and inspired to continue to show their work even beyond the gallery at Studio 2500.”
Williams continues to create art pieces of his own and loves to work with his favorite medium: metal.
“My dad taught me how to weld and work with metal,” Williams said. “So, I transferred that trade into working with metal in art. I felt spiritually connected to the material. Every time I would look at it, feel it, even kind of just smell it and be around it. And I started collecting little leftover pieces that we would work with from time to time and started experimenting with it.”
Williams then employs the material in such a way to convey messages that resonate with himself.
“There’s always been a call for me to pursue justice and pursue some kind of fairness and equity in my surroundings,” Williams said. “Whether it be in my personal dealings with family, friends (or) community members. That element — that’s at play in my spirit. Pursuing justice and being an example, in my own way, of justice in my little part of the world — making my little contribution. And then matriculating that desire into how I create works of art and into what I’m currently doing within my artwork practice”
Williams’s most recent contribution is a piece entitled “Arc of Justice.”
“It represents a global pursuit for justice and humanity,” he said. “It was conceived during 2020 when the globe and society as we know it took a lot of shifts in its relationship to each other. My first inclination was to try to figure out how my art could serve to raise the level of consciousness at that time and moving forward for a world of better peace and humanity. And so, Dr. King’s quote came up in my mind, “’The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.’”
Guided by that inspiration, Williams finished the 20-foot-tall sculpture piece and unveiled it in August 2022. The piece now sits in the center of Studio 2500’s art garden.
Williams intends for the studio to continue serving the local community.
“We definitely hope to, first and foremost, stay rooted in Birmingham and grow in that area as a little art hub that can better the artists in Birmingham,” he said.
The studio has an upcoming reception that is set for February 12, in honor of Black History Month. The studio will be presenting the Heritage Exhibit with pieces that reflect “history, culture (and) Blackness.”
Studio 2500 is located at 2500 26th Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama. It can be reached at 205-324-4855.
More information on Studio 2500 can be found on its official website at Studio25.gallery.
