Amazing Grace: Confronting the Enduring Legacy

February 2 - August 2, 2025
Black Sanderson Gallery

Amazing Grace: Confronting the Enduring Legacy is an immersive installation by artist Carl Joe Williams, combining video, painting, and found objects. It invites viewers to explore American society’s resilience, challenges, and complexities. This installation empowers young people to foster positive change through thoughtfully crafted questions, videos, and artistic abstractions of the American flag.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Williams draws on his African American cultural heritage in his work. His installations are celebrated for their dynamic blend of color, texture, and form–transforming the mundane into the extraordinary by breathing new life into found objects that become vibrant sculptural pieces.

For the Amazing Grace installation, Williams collaborated with esteemed scholars such as Dr. Robin DiAngelo, author of *White Fragility*, and Jason Greer, author of *Bias, Racism, and the Brain*. The title, “Amazing Grace,” is inspired by the rich history of Black churches and carries profound significance. This beloved hymn, composed in 1772 by John Newton, tells a remarkable story of transformation—a former slave trader who found spiritual awakening and became a dedicated minister and abolitionist. Much like Newton’s journey from darkness to light, the installation, Amazing Grace: Confronting the Enduring Legacy, reminds viewers of their own moments of grace and understanding while inviting NC State students to influence the installation’s message.

Artist Carl Joe Williams is relaunching the Gregg Museum’s artist residency program at NC State, which focuses on the research and social impact of artists collaborating with NC State’s STEM programs through community service to create art-science solutions.

Engage with Carl Joe William’s critical questions! You’re welcome to share a video response. When you do, please tag #NCStateGreggMuseumAmazingGrace

Amazing Grace Questions

CARL JOE WILLIAMS

African American artist Carl Joe Williams is known for his multidisciplinary painting, sculpture, and installation work. He elevates everyday objects into vibrant sculptures and is dedicated to using art as a catalyst for positive change.

As a founding member of Blights Out, a Creative Capital-backed initiative in New Orleans, he empowers communities to participate actively in their development, transforming urban spaces and fostering renewal. His deep connection to music enriches Williams’ creative universe. Williams is a talented musician who integrates his compositions into videos and installations, creating multi-sensory experiences. Found objects serve as characters in a larger narrative that tackles societal and historical issues. Williams’ art is a call to action, reflecting our shared humanity and the transformative power of creativity.

Williams has gained national recognition, including exhibiting at the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art and in the documentary “State of the Art”, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, McKenna Museum of African American Art, and more.