Katie Miller, award winning artist, autism advocate, and adult with ASD

Katie is an adult female on the autism spectrum and she is an artist; however Katie states, "I prefer to be thought of as an artist, not an autistic artist. The latter implies special consideration, and I don’t need that. Art should be judged on its merit alone, and artists, disabled or not, should not feel they must filter their biographies to preclude this from happening. I chose to share what I have here because I have realized that my disabilities are more relevant to my art than I previously thought and because I am proud of who I am." Katie decided to become an artist by the time she was 5 years old. Katie further states that she taught herself how to draw during childhood, and by the time she reached her teens, she was fast becoming recognized as a serious artist. Her artwork was showing, selling, winning awards; she had begun to accept portrait requests, and her artwork began to receive attention in the press. In 2006, Miller studied at the International School of Art in Umbria, Italy. Miller is also the recipient of two merit-based scholarships at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore. She graduated from MICA in May 2007 Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in painting and a minor in art history. Katie's work has been shown at the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, and is represented in the permanent collection of Access Living, a Chicago nonprofit. She is a 2008 winner of the prestigious Wynn Newhouse Awards.