Who’s Who in Black Dayton-Cincinnati Awards 2025 Lifetime Achievement Honors to Willis ‘Bing’ Davis

Internationally Renowned Artist of the African Diaspora, Educator, Community Activist

Since the 1970s, Willis “Bing” Davis has created brilliant artwork in Dayton and beyond that reflects his spiritual feelings, visions, love, and appreciation for the storied culture and history of Africa and the entire African Diaspora. Whether teaching high school or college students or creating Afrocentric artwork and projects through his Dayton-based Willis Bing Davis Art Studio and EbonNia Gallery, Davis’ mission has been – and always will be – to create, exhibit, educate, promote, and preserve artwork rooted in the African Diaspora.

On Thursday, December 10, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, Who’s Who in Black, powered by Real Times Media, presented Willis ‘Bing’ Davis with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.

“It is truly our honor to present our highest and most prestigious award to Willis ‘Bing’ Davis, whose robust body of artwork continues to inspire and empower not only African American communities in Dayton, but has also uplifted communities in the African Diaspora around the world,” said Dr. Carter D. Womack, Who’s Who in Black’s COO. “When we think of the power of art and how it challenges, comforts, and educates, we are appreciative of Willis ‘Bing’ Davis and his artistic gift, voice, and contributions to celebrate the history and culture of Black people. This award to Mr. Davis is more than recognition of his excellence in art; it’s a celebration of his immense impact, courage, and legacy in Blackness.”

“Receiving this esteemed award from Who’s Who in Black, which recognizes Black excellence, is overwhelming,” said Davis. “I am humbled, yet appreciative that someone at Who’s Who in Black noticed my work and contributions of empowering Black communities when there are so many other African Americans in Dayton who have made valuable contributions of empowerment.”

Born in Greer, South Carolina, in 1937, Davis’ parents soon moved the family to East Dayton. While attending Dayton Public Schools, Davis developed a love for art through drawing and painting. He also demonstrated superb athletic skills in basketball and track and field.

“Creating art was gratifying, but so was excelling in sports,” said Davis. “I heard the high praise and saw the support that I had when I played basketball and participated in track and field, but there was just something very special about art that interested me more than sports.”

Nevertheless, Davis, standing close to 6 feet 4 inches, earned All-City honors in basketball while attending Dayton’s Wilbur Wright High School. Graduating in 1955, Davis went on to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he majored in art education and played collegiate basketball at a high level, ultimately earning him a place in DePauw’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 1959, with his bachelor’s degree in art education in hand, Davis returned to Dayton, where he taught art classes at Colonel White High School, in the same public school district where he had once been a student.

Following his dreams to one day become a professional artist, Davis attended The Dayton Art Institute and later Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, earning a Master of Education degree in art in 1967. Davis returned to DePauw University in 1970 to serve as assistant dean of art and coordinator of Black Studies. He was the first Black faculty member at the private liberal arts university. In 1976, Davis became assistant dean of the graduate school and associate professor of art at Miami University.

Davis is also proud to have served on the faculty of Central State University, an HBCU in Wilberforce, Ohio, for two decades. While his overall teaching experience at multiple institutions allowed Davis to make a profound impact on thousands of students, he always found time to create his own art projects.

“I made a commitment to myself that I would establish a career as an artist,” Davis said. “So in addition to teaching, I would exhibit my artwork, compete in competitions, and travel to conferences and seminars to gain more knowledge about becoming a better artist.”

Davis considers himself a mixed-media artist, heavily influenced and focused on African and African American history and culture.

“I use the art process, whether I’m painting, drawing, using ceramic or mixed media to express ideas and thoughts that I have about Black people individually and collectively,” said Davis, who often likes using discarded items and creatively repurpose them into art. “I want to express things in creative ways about life itself.”

In 1998, Davis founded the Willis Bing Davis Art Studio and EbonNia Gallery, located in the historic Wright-Dunbar Business Village. The studio and gallery are central components in creating and exhibiting a multiplicity of paintings, drawings, and other contemporary African American artwork by Davis and fellow Afrocentric artists in Greater Dayton.

Davis also created SHANGO: Center for the Study of African American Art and Culture, a non-profit entity under his art studio’s umbrella. Through SHANGO, grants are written to acquire funding to implement youth and community empowerment programs through arts and crafts.

Over his years as a professional artist, much of his artwork has been exhibited in public and private collections in the United States and the African countries of Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, and Gabon. His artwork has also been exhibited in England, China, Japan, France, and Australia. Davis has lectured on his African influenced artwork in Russia, Japan, and South America.

With countless African-centered works of art in his enormous artistic portfolio, it’s not easy for Davis to choose his favorite art projects, because there are many. However, he was eager to point to a series of sculptures that he created and labeled as “Anti-police Brutality Masks.” One of his most prominent sculptures in the series is “Colin Kaepaernich-George Floyd Knee Cushion,” a mixed-media sculpture created several years ago. The sculpture juxtaposes former NFL Black quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee in protest to police abuse of Black people with the death of George Floyd, killed when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the Black man’s neck.

Another project that has taken residence in Davis’ portfolio of favorite artwork is his Dayton Skyscrapers initiative, which he started in 2007.

“The Dayton Skyscrapers Art Project is not a celebration of tall buildings in the city,” said Davis. “Dayton Skyscrapers is a metaphor for those local African Americans who stand tall in their fields and have made valuable contributions to uplifting the lives of underserved communities in the Dayton Miami Valley Region.”

According to Davis, the project’s mission is to create and place vibrant portraits and informative bios on the interior walls of all 27 schools in the Dayton Public Schools System. Davis said that he is working in collaboration with other local and regional artists to complete and mount the portraits and bios by September 2026.

While Davis’ artwork has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally since the early 1970s, PBS has spotlighted his incredible talents and vast contributions to empower people of the African Diaspora. PBS has filmed a comprehensive documentary called “Willis “Bing” Davis: Reach High & Reach Back.” The almost 58-minute-long documentary explores and highlights the life, times, art, and contributions of Davis as an artist, educator, and community activist. “Willis “Bing” Davis: Reach High & Reach Back,” according to PBS’ website, is available for viewing until March 02, 2029, by logging on to https://www.pbs.org/show/reach-high-reach-back-willis-bing-davis/.

In 2023, the University of Dayton created the Willis “Bing” Davis Archive to preserve the iconic artist’s personal and professional papers, photographs, teaching materials, selected artwork, videos, awards, and news articles reflecting Davis’ artistic and cultural journey in Dayton, across the country, and on foreign soil.

“I’m excited UD has pledged support and structure to present the information in a form that students, researchers, and scholars can have access to it to be able to see my journey and understand what I was attempting to do with art and culture in my life,” Davis told a local media outlet in 2023. “I hope that UD finds a way to continue to inspire and inform students, scholars, and the community.”

For Davis, 88, his artistic drumbeat to create Afrocentric art continues, dedicated to reaching, teaching, and impacting generations of people, while drawing admiration from diverse cultures and ethnicities.

Davis is a global cultural hero. Yet, he loves that his roots are deeply attached to Dayton, where he and his wife, Audrey, reside. Audrey Davis is vice president of the Willis Bing Davis Studio, EbonNia Gallery, and SHANGO: Center for the Study of African American Art and Culture. In addition, son Derrick, 56, and daughter Nia, 40, will be significantly involved in the future pathways and operations of the studio, gallery, and SHANGO.

“Willis ‘Bing’ Davis’ artwork continues to awaken something in all people in Dayton and around the world, especially people of African descent,” said Womack. “He is a champion of truth, vision, resilience, and is dedicated to empowering and preserving the African Diaspora by using his creative gifts and platforms.”