Emily M Miller

Emily Miller (she/her) is a multidisciplinary Irish artist who recently received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a George Moore Scholar. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin with a First-Class Honours degree in Fine Art, Paint. She has exhibited her work in Ireland, the U.S., the U.K. and across Europe.

Her experience of growing up on a sheep farm in rural Ireland put environmentalism at the centre of her practice. Her current work features hand-carved ostrich eggshells painted with ostrich egg tempera, a significant material choice as this is a solvent and plastic-free paint medium. These ostrich eggs are locally sourced from Salger’s Ostrich Farm in Southern Illinois.

Teaching Fellow, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2025; Graduate Student Leadership Award, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2025; Awardee, J&R. Field Travel Scholarship with SAIC to the Venice Biennale, 2024; Awardee, George Moore Scholarship 2023–2025; Awarded Resident, Creative Laois and Laois County Council, 2023–2025; Awardee, Hyde Bridge Gallery (of the Yeats Society) 2023 Solo Show Award, Sligo, Ireland, 2023; Awardee, Agility Award, Arts Council, Ireland, 2022; Awardee of Carlow Arts Festival’s Wedge Fund scheme for Postcard Interrailing video 2020-2021; Awardee, Laois Arthouse September residency, 2022; Art Student Of The Year, St.Leo's College, Carlow, 2019; First place winner, Drugs.ie poster competition, Drugs.ie, Dublin, 2018; Winner, Digital Tomorrow, European Youth Video contest, Valletta, Malta, 2017; Winner, Euroscola Video competition, Ireland, 2017; Winner, Green Schools Ireland 2040 poster competition, 2017; Winner, Green Schools Ireland Water Conservation poster competition 2017; First place winner, Drugs.ie poster competition, 2017; Winner, Euroscola Poster competition, Ireland, 2016; First place winner, Mountmellick Library EU poster competition, Laois, 2016

Solo exhibitions: My eyes were formed there, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin, IE, 2023

Group exhibitions: EXPO Chicago, Secrist Beach Gallery booth, Navy Pier, Chicago IL, 2025; Master Class, Secrist Beach Gallery, curated by Britton Bertran and Lisa Wainwright, Chicago, IL, 2025; A Sunlit Absence, graduate exhibition, SAIC Galleries, Chicago, IL, 2025; Small Stuff II, Howling Pages gallery, Chicago, IL, 2024; Eco Showboat Exhibit, Vicarstown Community Hall, curated by Denis Connolly and Anne Cleary, Laois, IE, 2023; In Residence III, the Oliver Sears Gallery, Cromwell Place London, 2023; Youth Panel Showcase, curated by Oisín Kenny, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, IE, 2023; Earth Rising, curated by Siobhán Mooney and Annie Fletcher, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, IE, 2022; Dublin Modular, curated by Tadhg Kennedy, Kirkos, Dublin, IE, 2022; Arcade Academy Open Call show, curated by Sophia Campbell, Arcade Studios, Belfast, IE, 2022; Controlled Voltage, curated by Tadhg Kennedy, Pallas Projects, Dublin, IE, 2022; Points of Entry, Temple Bar Medical Centre, Dublin, IE, 2022; A Minimal Interference, NCAD Degree Show, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, IE, 2022; Leave A Light On, outdoor art exhibition, Dunamaise Arts Centre, Laois, IE, 2021; The Equinox, performance art exhibition, Dunamaise Arts Centre, Laois, IE, 2021; The National Pluid Project, The Cowshed Gallery, Farmleigh, Dublin, IE, 2021; Bloom, curated by Catherine Ward, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, IE, 2021; Mail-Art life, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, IE, 2021; Osten Biennial of Drawing Finalists Exhibition, National Gallery of North Macedonia, 2021; Festival International Imagem Natureza Finalists Exhibition, Portugal, 2020

Education has been profoundly transformative in Emily's life. Time and again, it has been the generosity, commitment, and encouragement of teachers that have expanded her sense of possibility. Her commitment as an educator stems directly from these transformative encounters. She strives to create classrooms that are both challenging and compassionate, spaces that ignite curiosity and ambition, where students are encouraged to take risks, interrogate complex issues, and synthesize research across disciplines. She believes the most powerful learning happens in environments that invite both vulnerability and critical rigour.

As a teacher, she is committed to helping students from all backgrounds find their voice and agency. She cultivates an inclusive and responsive learning environment where students can not only thrive, but also help redefine the terms of inclusion itself; fostering a classroom where difference is not just accommodated, but deeply valued as a generative force.