Billy Joe Miller (he/him) is a queer, self-taught, interdisciplinary artist who creates sculptures, installations, and public art in response to the natural world. The themes of belonging, shelter, and sanctuary are integral to his work. As a hospice nursing assistant for many years, Miller accompanied people through the process of dying. His experiences in healthcare-related sites, as well as his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2010, have inspired his desire to create accessible public art for parks, community centers, civic space and healthcare related sites. Originally from San Diego, California, Miller now lives in the East Mountains of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to his studio practice, Miller creates collaborative community-based projects and produces public art. His work has been supported by New Mexico Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Meow Wolf, Bridge Projects, Tides Institute and Museum of Art, the Speranza Foundation, City of Palm Desert, City of Brian Head and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In partnership with Artful Life, Billy Joe Miller is using art designs, community engagement and sculpture to encourage the public to reimagine the role aesthetics can play in healthcare, hospitals, and related sites. By organizing public engagement opportunities and events, Billy Joe facilitates conversations and collaborations that challenge the idea of what healthcare can be. Within the year, Billy Joe’s main focus will be on the design and creation of sculptures to show at healthcare related sites and/or the Albuquerque Museum. A central sculptural work, Moving Window, a mobile stained glass window, designed for hospitals and inspired by the artist’s own experiences of illness offers a comforting aesthetic in otherwise sterile spaces and brings healthcare into conversations of contemporary art. Miller is also developing and hopes to include a mobile exhibit of works from his community engagements through Artists At Work: Borderlands, contributing to the conversation surrounding comprehensive healthcare and art.