Adia Millett is acclaimed for her deep exploration of basic configurations, diverse expressive practices, and experimentation with mediums. Trained in the fine arts, art history, and the postmodernist theories of cultural studies, Millett conveys her felt concerns in the discourses of the domestic, the public sphere, gender positions, and spirituality through the interdependent form and content of the abstract compositions of her works.
Millett received a BFA from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. In 2001, she moved to New York for the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, followed by a residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem. She lived and worked in New York for a decade, exhibiting in high-profile group shows among them “Freestyle” (Studio Museum in Harlem, 2001), “Living Units” (Triple Candie, 2003), “Black President” (The New Museum, 2003), and “Greater New York” (Museum of Modern Art PS1, 2005), and recently in “Where is Here” (Museum of African Diaspora, 2017), and “Black Refractions” (Studio Museum in Harlem, 2019).
Recent solo exhibitions include "Wisdom Warriors" (Institute of Contemporary Art San Jose, 2023-2024); "You Will Be Remembered." (Galerie du Monde, 2022); "A Force of Nature" (di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, United States, 2022); “A Matter of Time” (Galerie du Monde, 2020); “Breaking Patterns” (California African American Museum, United States, 2019); and “The Privilege to Breathe” (San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, United States, 2019). Millett has taught as an artist in residence at Columbia College in Chicago, University of California Santa Cruz, Cooper Union, and California College of the Arts. She currently lives and works in Oakland, California.
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"You Will Be Remembered." (Patchwork), 2022
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2nd Cup, 2022
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Bird in Flight, 2020
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Boundaries, 2021
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Cobalt Sky, 2023
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Everything and Nothing, 2020
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Grandfather, 2020
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Kind of Blue, 2021
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Projection, Not Reflection, 2020
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Remember, 2022
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Shield of the Emotional, 2023
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Shield of the Spiritual, 2023
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Silver Lining (Night), 2021
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Snake in the Fire, 2022
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Still Standing, 2022
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Strata, 2022
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SUN (quilted Ancestor), 2022
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Sweet Potato Sky, 2022
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The Movement, 2020
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Three Windows, 2015
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Transformation of Labor, 2019
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Visionary, 2023
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Water On the Other Side, 2020
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Yoni River, 2023
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Adia Millett - You Will Be Remembered
Curated by Jacqueline Francis 9 Nov - 31 Dec 2022Adia Millett: You Will Be Remembered. Exhibition Period: 9 Nov - 31 Dec 2022 Curated by Jacqueline Francis Galerie du Monde is delighted to present Adia Millett’s second solo exhibition...Read more -
Adia Millett - A Matter of Time
Curated by Jacqueline Francis 19 Nov 2020 - 30 Jan 2021Galerie du Monde is pleased to present Adia Millett’s first exhibition in Asia – “A Matter of Time”, curated by Jacqueline Francis, from November 19, 2020 to January 10, 2021...Read more
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Adia Millett
Abstract Subjects: Adia Millett, Abstraction, and the Black Aesthetic Tradition October 30, 2024Adia Millett is interviewed and featured in Derek Conrad Murray's Article ' Abstract Subjects: Adia Millett, Abstraction, and the Black Aesthetic Tradition.' Part of a...Read more -
Adia Millett
“Sunset/Sunrise” Mural, UCSF Health’s Bayfront Medical Building September 13, 2024Adia Millett presents new public art installation 'Sunset/Sunrise“ at the UCSF Health's Bayfront Medical Building in San Francisco. The displays - a stunning 'soundscape' mural...Read more -
Adia Millett
Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation September 10, 2024Adia Millett will be featured in Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation’s exhibition, 'Packing and Cracking: The Art of (and Response to) Gerrymandering' opening on 17 September...Read more -
Adia Millett
Public Mural Commission for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital March 18, 2024Adia Millett has been commissioned to create a public mural at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California. Millett will be painting for the...Read more -
Adia Millett
Public Art - Basketball Court Mural in Collaboration with Zendaya and Project Backboard August 26, 2023Location: Lowell Park, Oakland, CA, United States Artist Adia Millett collaborates with nonprofit organization Project Backboard on a special Oakland basketball court mural, a large-scale...Read more -
Adia Millett
Yale University Art Gallery August 14, 2023Group Exhibition 'Portrait of an Unlikely Space' Curated by Mickalene Thomas and Keely Orgeman Presented by the Yale University Art Gallery Exhibition Period: 8 September...Read more -
Adia Millett
Curator Walk-Through: Fight and Flight at the Museum of Craft and Design August 10, 2023Curator Walk-Through: Fight and Flight Date & Time: 24 August 2023, 6pm – 7:30pm Venue: The Museum of Craft and Design (2569 Third Street San...Read more -
Adia Millett
Solo Exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José July 17, 2023Adia Millett: Wisdom Keepers Solo Exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José Exhibition Period: 16 September 2023 - 18 February 2024 Exhibition Opening:...Read more -
Fight and Flight
Museum of Craft and Design April 11, 2023'Fight and Flight: Crafting a Bay Area Life' Exhibition period: 15 April - 10 September 2023 Venue: The Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco,...Read more -
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Featuring Adia Millett and Cathy Lu March 29, 2023'Women to Watch 2024: New Suns' Date: 29 March - 28 April 2023 Venue: Campus Gallery of California College of Arts, San Francisco, US Opening...Read more -
Adia Millett
Panel Conversation at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts February 20, 2023Locating Identity in the Abstract: A Panel Conversation Date and time: 23 February 2023, 6-8 pm (ET) Venue: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan, US Galerie...Read more -
Adia Millett
Featured on RTHK The Works December 9, 2022Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK)’s The Works is Hong Kong's longest running arts and culture magazine show. In its 3 December 2022 program, The Works...Read more -
Adia Millett
"A Force of Nature" at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art June 17, 2022'Adia Millett: A Force of Nature' Venue: di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, California, United States Opening Reception: 23 July 2022 Exhibition Period: 23 July...Read more -
Adia Millett
Public Art Project in Oakland June 16, 2022As part of Oakland's initiative to support the local community by enhancing the learning experience across the city's public school system, Adia Millett has created...Read more -
Adia Millett
Meta Open Arts Commission June 2, 2022Meta Open Arts commissioned Adia Millett to create a site-specific artwork at its headquarter in Palo Alto, California, addressing the issue of homelessness in America....Read more -
Adia Millett
Exhibition and Virtual Symposium - Kalamazoo Institute of Arts April 7, 2022Unveiling American Genius Date: 1 March – 31 December 2022 Venue: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, United States Virtual Symposium “The Future of American Art”...Read more -
Adia Millett
Juror for the Artist Members Biennial for the San Jose Museum of Quits & Textiles April 1, 2022Adia Millett will jury Radical Regeneration: 3rd Artist Members Biennial for the San Jose Museum of Quits & Textiles in 2022. This year's theme of...Read more -
Adia Millett
Collaborative Exhibition "Emergence" December 28, 2021Adia Millett and Alex Asher Daniel have come together to create a body of work inspired by their artistic practices and spiritual journeys. At the...Read more -
Adia Millett
Anonymous Was A Woman Award 2021 November 11, 2021Congratulations to our artist Adia Millett on receiving the Anonymous Was A Woman Award 2021! Anonymous Was a Woman is an unrestricted grant of $25,000...Read more -
Adia Millett
"our constellations: astral embraces and tactual consciousness" August 9, 2021Group exhibition our constellations: astral embraces and tactual consciousness Exhibition period: 7 August - 11 September 2021 Venue: Emerson Dorsch, Miami, USA Featuring artists: Beverly...Read more -
Adia Millett
Facebook Open Arts Public Project June 22, 2021Facebook Open Arts commissioned Adia Millett to create a site-specific artwork at its headquarter in Palo Alto, California, addressing the issue of homelessness in America....Read more -
Adia Millett
Antiracist Libraries Project April 5, 2021Rise Up Against Racism (RUAR) is a non-profit organization focused on implementing change through sustainable initiatives. The goal of the Antiracist Book Initiative is to...Read more -
Adia Millett
Artist Talk, Utah Museum of Fine Art March 16, 2021Utah Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition: 'Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem' Artists in Conversation On 31 March 2021 at 2pm EST,...Read more -
Adia Millett
Video Interview - SingTao ArtCan December 23, 2020Hong Kong's leading media Sing Tao Newspaper's ArtCan Magazine has interviewed Adia Millett on her first exhibition in Asia - 'A Matter of Time', impact...Read more -
Adia Millett
In Conversation with Curators Jacqueline Francis and Ying Kwok November 19, 2020Adia Millett's Asian debut 'A Matter of Time' will open at Galerie du Monde on November 19, 2020. As the Oakland-based artist cannot travel to...Read more -
Adia Millett
Video Project "Act Like a Lady" at the Berkeley Art Center November 12, 2020The Berkeley Art Center commissioned Adia Millett to work on a video project entitled “Act Like a Lady” as part of the BAC’s new digital...Read more -
Adia Millett
Crocker Art Museum's Permanent Collection August 24, 2020We are very pleased to annouce Adia Millett's new painting 'Shelter' has been acquired by the Crocker Art Museum in California. Galerie du Monde will...Read more -
Adia Millett
Artist Talk: Race and Identity August 4, 2020Writer, historian and curator Jacqueline Francis was in conversation with artists Adia Millett and Cheryl Derricotte at the FOG Fair 2019 about the way artists...Read more -
Adia Millett
Permanent Collection, California African American Museum July 29, 2020Adia Millett's mixed media minature created in 2009, titled 'Blind Premonition (bed)' is now in the permanent collection of the California African American Museum in...Read more -
Adia Millett
Studio Visit with the Museum of the African Diaspora July 6, 2020Studio Visit with Adia Millett and the Museum of the African Diaspora Watch the studio tour on Youtube -- https://www.facebook.com/moadsanfrancisco/videos/270130640747995/ Adia Millett, originally from Los...Read more -
Adia Millett
“Faultline” – Limited Edition Puzzle for Racial Justice June 11, 2020“Faultline” – Limited Edition Puzzle for Racial Justice Oakland based artist Adia Millett has created a limited edition puzzle based on her new,...Read more -
Adia Millett
Museum of the African Diaspora's Online Benefit Auction April 21, 2020The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is launching its first benefit auction, as artists, donors, businesses, collectors, and individuals have banded together to ensure...Read more -
Adia Millett
Finalist, San Francisco Arts Commission Public Art Project December 6, 2019Adia Millett Finalist, San Francisco Arts Commission Public Art Project The San Francisco Arts Commission is conducting a selection process to choose an artist to...Read more -
Adia Millett
Solo Exhibition at the California African American Museum in LA February 1, 2019Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns Curated by: Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager Exhibition Period: February 5 to August 25, 2019 Location: California African...Read more