Culture

Ashley Jaye Williams (R). Photo by Scott Suchman.

District Denizens: Ashley Jaye Williams

December 8, 2023 @ 1:00pm |

Our editor-in-chief Monica Alford invited seven friends, collaborators and partners in crime who just so happen to be some of the driving forces behind D.C.’s thriving creative scene.

Multidisciplinary artist, muralist and co-founder of The Model Mutiny Ashley Jaye Williams takes a seat at the Petite Cerise table and chat hidden talents, alternate career tracks and what they’re up to next.

District Fray: What’s next for you.
Ashley Jaye Williams: I am so excited to stave off wintertime depression with my creative peers at the new Disco Mary space in Union Market by Dock 5. I am working on developing a body of work for my solo exhibition entitled “The Jaye Williams Product Line for Men,” which will be at Touchstone Gallery in June 2024. I will also be working on a bunch of textile and wearable fabric fashion pieces for sale at the Disco Mary space and just having fun experimenting as much as possible. Going into 2024, I will have paintings up at the Juried Group Exhibition by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and at Woolly Mammoth.

Upcoming project with Monica and her team.
First, I want to stalk the whole team and then love bomb them all. Once they are psychologically dependent on me, we can really start moving into group inertia as one “collective.” Once we have adequately reinforced our insular community, we can present a united front as we bring others into our fold. A period of about 8-10 years constructing a complicated web of money laundering and technically not-illegal transactional discretions will put us in a good place to then expand our network and reach the global presence needed to move on to stage #2.

Favorite touristy part of D.C.
I love the art museums, of course: National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Art, Hirshhorn Museum. I love them all.

If you had to, where you’d live instead of D.C.
I would live with my sister and her family in Italy because I miss my family, the air is fresh, the sea is beautiful and there is so little gun violence.

Sum yourself up in one sentence.
I am a visual artist and Scorpio with a photographic memory.

Observe Williams’ world domination front row by visiting her website ashleyjayewilliams.com and following her on Instagram @ashleyjayewilliams.