Fulton County Arts & Culture Leadership

Ife Williams
Acting Deputy Director

Ife Williams joined the Fulton County Arts Council in July 2005 as the Public Art Program Coordinator.  In April 2009, Ms. Williams’ role expanded to include the duties of Program Development Specialist and in November 2010 she accepted her current position as Acting Deputy Director.  Under her leadership the Public program has completed eight new Public Art Commissions and expanded the scope of the County’s Art-on-Loan Program through the acquisition of over 50 original artworks from local artists.  In addition to identifying and securing the allocation of project funds from eligible county Capital Improvement Projects, serving as departmental liaison to other Fulton County departments, organizations, and artists Ms. Williams has worked to increase opportunities for Registry Artists’ including the addition of annual exhibitions at Art Center Galleries and broadening the program’s audience with hands on arts activities with local artists, lectures and seminars.

Before joining the Fulton County Arts Council, Ms. Williams served as a member of Curatorial and Collections Management Teams at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; the Lowe Gallery, Syracuse; Museum of Contemporary Arts, North Miami; Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Coral Gables; and the University of Washington’s Henry Art gallery, Seattle.  In this capacity she participated in the design, preparation and installation of numerous exhibitions including David Smith: Stop/Action; Superflat and Captured and Created.  Ms. Williams has established and implemented policies and procedures for installation of large scale artworks, coordinated the shipment of artwork, received new acquisitions, maintained the collections database, and supervised collections staff.  She has also participated in institutional strategic planning, drafted Emergency Manuals, revised Collections Policies and managed copyright clearance procedures for image usage.

Ms. Williams worked as a grant writer and program developer for several Non-Profit Arts Organizations in Miami including: Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Bakehouse Art Complex and the Cultural Development Group.  While in Miami, she received a two year Sculptor-in-Residence Award from the Paul Abrams Endowment Project which allowed her to develop an apprenticeship program for teens from underserved communities, lead several stone carving workshops for Florida Arts Educators and create original artworks using traditional stone carving techniques.

Ms. Williams received her bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Metalsmithing from the University of Michigan School of Art and Architecture, Ann Arbor in 1995.  In 1998, she went on to study at Syracuse University where she completed coursework for her Masters of Arts Degree in Museum Studies from the College of Visual and Performing Arts.