Austin Miles: “A Swaying of Bodies and Nodding of Heads”

Austin “Auz” Miles is a multidisciplinary painter, public artist, educator, and activist from Durham, NC, currently working in Richmond, VA. Her community-based creative practice centers the stories of Black women, exploring themes of identity, ancestry, and societal constraints. Miles explores the complexities of Black womanhood through the interplay of abstraction, representation, painting and fibers. Austin “Auz” Miles has exhibited her work throughout the East Coast including spaces like The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art at Virginia Beach, and The Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE. 

Miles is a member of All City Art Club and has installed numerous murals throughout Richmond. In addition, she has painted public art installations throughout the country including Detroit, MI, Magnolia, MS, and Cleveland, Ohio. This fall (2025), Austin Miles will be attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, pursuing her MFA in Fibers & Material Studies.