The first career survey of Chicago-based artist and trained architect Amanda Williams, this exhibition spans more than two decades, bringing together painting, sculpture, installation, and public works to examine how Williams transforms the built environment into a site of aesthetic and civic inquiry. Working at the intersection of art, architecture, and urban planning, Williams expands the role of the artist in reimagining public space. From her landmark Color(ed) Theory series to contemporary works that reinterpret architectural forms and mapping systems, the exhibition reveals how housing policy, urban development, and disinvestment have shaped the cities we inhabit. Widely recognized for her public projects, Williams’s practice is represented here in its breadth, including her sustained engagement with color as both architectural material and metaphor. Bringing together landmark works alongside recent projects, the exhibition demonstrates how color frames the ways in which the built environment is perceived, valued, and commemorated.

Amanda Williams is a Chicago-based visual artist trained in architecture at Cornell University. She has exhibited at institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Venice Architecture Biennale; and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. Her honors include a USA Ford Fellowship, a Joan Mitchell Foundation award, a 3Arts Next Level award, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Her work is held in major collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian Institution. She is the codesigner of a forthcoming monument to Shirley Chisholm in Brooklyn and serves on the museum design team for the Obama Presidential Center. She is currently developing a project to recontextualize the George Washington Monument in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood.

Jadine Collingwood is Pamela Alper Associate Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. At the MCA, she has curated projects including the upcoming show Slow Dance (2026), Nicole Eisenman: What Happened (organized by Monika Bayer-Wermuth and Mark Godfrey, 2024), Gary Simmons: Public Enemy (with René Morales, 2023), and Descending the Staircase (2023). Previously, she worked at the Walker Art Center where she was part of the curatorial team for several exhibitions, including the major retrospective Siah Armajani: Follow This Line (with Victoria Sung, 2018), amd the group exhibition The Body Electric (with Pavel Pyś, 2019). Prior to the Walker, Collingwood was an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago. Jadine holds a BA in Art History and Gender Studies from the University of Chicago, an MA in Art History from University of California Berkeley, and a PhD in Art History from the University of Chicago.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is an innovative and compelling center of contemporary art where the public can experience the work and ideas of living artists, and understand the historical, social, and cultural context of the art of our time. The museum boldly interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs to excite, challenge, and illuminate our visitors and offer insight into the creative process. The MCA engages diverse audiences and creates a sense of community by providing a place to contemplate and discuss contemporary art and culture and issues of our day.