Congratulations

Katie Miller, 25, is a winner of the 2008 Wynn Newhouse Award - a $60,000 merit-based grant shared among four professional artists with disabilities. Artists may not apply directly for the award; Miller was one of a group of artists nominated anonymously. Congratulations to Miller and the other award winners: Barbara Bloom, Isabella Kirkland, and Stephen Lapthisophon.

The four award winners were chosen from the pool of nominees by an impressive selection committee consisting of Phong Bui, publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, uberartist Chuck Close, Donna DeSalvo, curator at the Whitney Museum, Chicago-based artist Joseph Grigely, and the award's namesake, art collector Wynn Newhouse.

Miller is excited to meet the other award winners at a private luncheon in New York next month. She plans on using the money to cover part of her graduate school tuition in the fall. "It is an enormous honor to be chosen by such a highly-regarded jury," says Miller, "I was humbled to be amongst the winners. They have outstanding work and are much more accomplished in their careers than me." To the right is "Newborn Walking," a recent charcoal and pastel on paper, 30 x 54 inches.

Miller is also excited to be exhibiting in The Armory Show – The International Fair of New Art, which has been the world's leading art fair devoted exclusively to contemporary art since its introduction in 1999. Top galleries and dealers from all over the world vie for one of less than 200 booths. In just four days, over 52,000 international visitors are expected to shuffle through Piers 92 and 94 along the Hudson River.

Miller is one of fourteen artists chosen by VSA Arts to exhibit in their booth. This is the first year that this non-profit has participated in the show. VSA Arts, which showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities, has previously exhibited Katie Miller's work in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution.

As many of you know, I often surf the web looking for new artists (new to me anyway) so that I can highlight them here. Last year I discovered Miller's work and announced it here.

Katie Miller of Parkton, Maryland graduated with honors in 2007 from Maryland Institute College of Art, where she majored in painting. She has been exhibiting her work for the past ten years. She is proud to be on the autism spectrum and is active in the autism rights and neurodiversity movements. Miller thanks autism for her intense concentration, heightened perception, and unique way of viewing the world. She plans on a career as a professional artist.

The 2009 Armory Show takes place from March 5-8, 2009, Pier 94, at Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street, New York, NY. It is open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. March 5-7 and from noon to 7 p.m. on March 8.