Mari Miller
Mari Miller (梅月圓, they/them; b. 1988, Hinsdale, IL) is a disabled, Eurasian Toisanese maker from Chicago. They believe that art, craft, and design are colonial constructs; no one type is inherently worth more than another. Though they were formally educated in art and design, Mari credits their creative mindset to watching their grandmother, Kong King Gim (江琼金), invent small things to make everyday life easier.
As a maker, community organizer, and curator, Mari uses a multi-disciplinary and experimental practice based in citizen science and book making to help people connect to the land, their communities, and to meet their material needs. Inspired by Indigenous ways of relating to the world, they use soil chromatography to illuminate the spirit, or qi, of the land. Their primary inspiration has been Indigenous Chinese farming and tea culture.
