Alex Kimball Williams is the artivist (artist + activist) behind the Bad Alaskan project, joining Indigenous EDM & meditative dance. Her work brings cinematic & justice-oriented experiences to various audiences, alternative venues, & multidisciplinary projects. Her praxis includes improv techniques to improve our capacities for coping with discomfort, to support advocates in withstanding the stresses which accompany their critical work. She views art as the vehicle for community growth. Her electric set reimagines traditional melodic motifs on synthesizers & her acoustic set rewinds traditional folk songs from the Negro spiritual pipeline.
Currently, she manages a large-scale climate justice grant based at Haskell Indian Nations University supporting diverse coastal Indigenous communities in protecting their lifeways, including issues of food sovereignty and climate-forced displacement. Additionally, she works as a DEI Team Lead for the Kansas Arts Commission & is dedicated to programmatic equity for Black & Native artists across Kansas. Alex works as a consultant for museums in the areas of exhibition planning, label writing, & event organizing.
She cofounded B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence, a Lawrence-based artist collective, & successfully advocated for Lawrence to become a sanctuary city alongside fellow organizers in Sanctuary Alliance. She also worked with the City of Lawrence to ameliorate the anti-trans bathroom bills in Kansas legislation in 2024, leading to protections for local trans community members. Alex also contributed towards the local efforts making Lawrence the first city in Kansas to adopt the CROWN Act, an ordinance legalizing Black hair & hairstyles in places of work & education.
Alex received the 2018 MLK Dreamer’s award from Lawrence Public Schools, the Community Leader (racial & justice issues) award in the 2021 Best of Lawrence issue, and received a community service award from the Lawrence Juneteenth Organization in 2023.