ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is about trust, kindness and faith in humanity. It is also about greed, avarice and oppression. I am a metamodernist: I am interested in creating what it could be, while I am critiquing what is, oscillating between hope for the future and despair at the state of the world.

I want to live in a kinder, safer world: better for women, better for men, and better for the plants and animals who also happen to live here. To that end, I create projects which are elaborate, demanding and develop a deep connection in my community. Continually, I ask my community members to be involved in the design of my work. I invite participants and viewers to share their fears and join the conversation.

I aim to expose inequities and injustice in a way that is beautiful and hopeful. I want the viewer to feel invited into the work, gently with love and respect. Each project is a subtle reminder that we are part of the system we live in and have the power to change it.

I believe my role as an artist is to provide the canvas for other people to express their ideas. My work is intended as a conduit for creating a new future that we all want to live in.

-Laura Milkins

 

ARTIST BIO

Laura Milkins is an interdisciplinary artist living in Tucson, AZ. Her work explores vulnerability, intimacy, and cultural norms, using variety of media: online-interactive performance, video, drawing, painting, and live radio/podcasting. Through storytelling, her work examines the connection between technology, the environment, and the body in Western culture.

Her work has been exhibited across the U.S., Mexico and in France. She has received grants, awards, and international recognition for her work including a Fulbright award to travel and work in Mexico City and the 2019 Tanne Foundation Award. She has been teaching art at Pima Community College since 2012 and enjoys sharing her passion and knowledge in creating meaningful artwork.

Photo of Laura by Alanna Airitam

Laura appears in this video made by The Drawing Studio on Celebrating Women in the Arts