Luke Williams

Luke Williams is an interdisciplinary scholar, artist, organizer and critic of twentieth and twenty-first-century Black diasporic performance and visual cultures. His in-progress manuscript titled In the Black: Figures of Racial Capitalism examines the practices of four Black emerging artists as they navigate the pressures of racial capitalism in the art market. The project charts how these artists adopted performative and aesthetic strategies of refusal to reorient frameworks of value when Black figuration sold for a market premium. Through this project and others, Williams queries narratives of freedom and the radical imagination. He is the editor of Blood, Sweat, and Time: Emerging Perspectives on Mildred Howard and Adrian Burrell, published by SmingSming Books and the Institute of Contemporary Art San José. A collaborative maker himself, Williams is often on stage or in the gallery. His performance practice excavates site-specific histories to devise community-based responses in the present. Williams holds a Ph.D. in Modern Thought & Literature from Stanford University, where he was a Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence (DARE) fellow. He received his B.A. in Political & Social Thought as a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia.

What do you enjoy most about being part of UT Theatre and Dance?

I'm inspired by the passion everyone brings to their craft. It is rewarding to be surrounded by so many talented colleagues, staff and students who help the community be the best it can be.

What is your favorite thing about Austin? 

There is an indescribable buzz in the air. Whether it is UT's outstanding school spirit or Austin's place as a city of the future, it is clear that exciting things are happening. I'm proud to be a part of it.

Curriculum Vitae (CV): Luke Williams