Joe Wilson, Jr.

Mr. Wilson, Jr., is an artist, administrator and arts and cultural leader who holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, and an MFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre training program. In 2024, Joe earned a Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education certificate, part of an international cohort supported by the Bloomberg Foundation. As an artist, he has worked On Broadway (2000 Tony Award-nominated production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and 2018 Tony Award-nominated Iceman Cometh starring Denzel Washington), Off Broadway, as well as performing in regional theaters around the country. He has taught acting, art activism, and lectured at high schools, colleges, universities and at conferences locally and around the country.

Today, Wilson serves as the Director of Art, Culture and Tourism for the City of Providence. He also serves on the boards of the Providence Tourism Council, the Providence/Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, WaterFire PVD, and Youth Pride. His department is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.



Previously, Wilson served as a member of the Resident Acting Company and Artistic Staff at Trinity Repertory Company for 19 seasons and Founded Trinity Rep’s Center for Activism and Performance. In 2023, Joe directed The Inheritance: Parts One and Two in the Fall of 2022, the 2021 production of A Christmas Carol both at Trinity Rep, An Octoroon by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins at the Gamm Theatre in Warwick, RI, and co-directed Black Odyssey by Marcus Gardley in 2018, also at Trinity.  All that said, Joe is most proud to be the father of his 4-year-old black lab - husky fur baby named Sally.