Ann Millett-Gallant: Painter, Art Historian and Disability Advocate
Creatives in Conversation: I believe that we can learn so much from each other and I am fascinated by the ways in which artists of all media move through the creative process. Each month I feature a different local artist as we discuss the challenges and joys that come from accessing and living with their creativity.
Ann Millett-Gallant, PhD, serves as Senior Lecturer for the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, by designing and teaching interdisciplinary online art history, visual culture, and women’s and disability studies courses. Her research bridges the disciplines of Art History and Disability Studies. Her books include The Disabled Body in Contemporary Art (2010); Re-Membering: Putting Mind and Body Back Together Following Traumatic Brain Injury (2016); and Disability and Art History, co-edited with Dr. Elizabeth Howie (2017). Disability and Art History: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century will be published in 2021. She has also published essays and reviews of art and film, and she enjoys painting and composing mixed-media collages.
You're an art historian as well as a visual artist. How do these two passions intersect?
Ann's Hands - acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10, 2008
I loved making art as a young, congenital amputee, and artmaking was a frequent activity in my childhood occupation therapy. I attended an alternative high school with concentration on the visual and performing arts; there, I gained knowledge about art history and techniques and completed a two-year fine arts concentration program that focused on drawing, painting, printmaking, and composing sculpture in a variety of media. I received a BA (97), MA (2000), and PhD (2005) in art history and continued my practices of painting, drawing, and making mixed-media collages. Much of my artmaking and academic work focuses on the human body. My research analyzes representations of the disabled body in art and visual culture and especially the artwork of disabled artists.
What does living a creative life mean to you?
Living a creative life, for me, means reading, writing, and making art, as well as viewing the work of other creative people. Creativity is a broad concept that can manifest and translate differently in individual’s lives and can bring communities together.
How do you think we can get this country in particular and the world in general to value art and creativity more highly and what do you think it would look like if we did?
Double Portrait of Sunny, acrylic on canvas, 14x20, 2012
First, I would advise to stop cutting budgets for education in the creative arts. The myriad arts in our country and around the world enrich, advocate for, and bring people together. Creativity encompasses activities with intellectual, personal, interpersonal, spiritual, and communal benefits. Such acts can make social and political statements, as well as be therapeutic and cathartic.
What are some creative challenges you’ve come across during your artistic journey and how have you moved through them – or are you still moving through them?
Most specifically, I experienced an accident in 2007 that resulted in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), muscle contraction, and loss of memory. I was in a coma for about 3 months. Once I had made enough progress to return to my home in Durham and to teach full time, I began sessions with an art therapist. Visual art factored greatly in my recovery and in my physical, mental, and emotional transformations, and I continue to make art for myself and others when possible.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be more creative?
I would advise that anyone can be more open to their own and others’ creativity. If you have interest in creative activities, pursue them when you can. Also, I would suggest that everyone be more aware of their creative acts and interests, in whatever timeframe and media they exist.
Ann's Muscle Spasm, mixed media on canvas, 12x12, 2018