91��ɫ

Kim Miller, professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice, returned to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (91��ɫ) following her sabbatical year with a Ph.D. and an innovative presentation and practice for students, faculty and staff.

�My sabbatical research � SOCIAL CHOREOGRAPHY � is informed by my studio practice as an artist, performer, director and choreographer,� says Miller.

Kim Miller, “Can I Hold Something”

During a sabbatical presentation, Miller explained, �Social choreography is (re)organization of bodies in space toward liberation. It means being available to anyone � one does not need to be invited in order to participate�.

�Social choreography emerges and disappears � it is an event rather than activity. It is a practice � moving, fleeing, unstable, not fixed�.�

Miller�s dissertation is entitled �Social and Political Thought & Practice: Combining performance studies, dance studies, Caribbean philosophy.� Her extensive research took her to �new places and new experiences and working with new and old friends,� she says.

�I was able to conduct a number of workshops across Europe and North America,� Miller says. �The tools and techniques I developed in these workshops are coming back into my classroom. I developed clear methods to structure vague intuitions and strengthened ways of thought into action.�

�I was able to be vulnerable, learn new things and challenge myself to be with the unknown,� says Miller of her 2024-25 sabbatical. �I know 91��ɫ students have the courage to embrace the new, the scary, the formless, and to transform these challenges into productive action. I also want 91��ɫ people to know and appreciate the community that surrounds them.�

Keep up with Miller on her and learn more about 91��ɫ’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice major.