Project Description

Pioneering Los Angeles architect, Paul R. Williams (1894-1980), was the first Black architect to become a member of the American Institute of Architects and built a wildly successful career as an architect, decades before the Civil Rights Movement.

This temporary exhibition is on view at Universal City/Studio City Station as part of the Metro Art Lightbox Exhibition Program.

Artist Statement

“Through his genius and unflagging dedication to his craft, Williams overcame a series of incredible challenges—at times working for clients too prejudiced to shake his hand and designed homes in neighborhoods he wouldn’t have been allowed to live in—to become an emblematic legend of Los Angeles.”

Ride + Consider

What is the significance of a Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) artist documenting the work of another BIPOC artist?

• Artist Website
• Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story (Video, PBS SoCal)
• ‘Regarding Paul R. Williams‘ Honors Legacy Of LA’s Barrier-Breaking Black Architect (Radio, NPR)

About the Artist

JANNA IRELAND (b. 1985, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) earned a Master of Fine Arts from the UCLA Department of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Department of Photography and Imaging at NYU. Ireland’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and internationally, and is held in the collections of institutions including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California African American Museum and Santa Barbara Museum of Art.  Ireland often uses herself and family in personal and editorial work and, in recent years, her practice has expanded to include architectural photography. She is the recipient of a Peter E. Pool Research Fellowship.