Performance artist Tim Miller has made a career of mixing one-man performances with activism. The internationally-renowned writer and performer says he combines his work and social values to ask, "what do we want to see our country provide?"
His performances have focused on LGBT rights, marriage equality, and immigration. No stranger to tackling controversial subjects, he was among the "NEA Four," a group of artists who became the center of a controversy after the National Endowment for the Arts pulled their grants in 1990 due to the the subject matter of the artists' shows. Though the artists' eventually won the case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the outcome permanently changed NEA funding guidelines and stopped grants to individual artists.
Miller is hosting an artist residency at FGCU's Theathre Lab through Apr. 9, which includes a solo performance, student workshops, and a culminating weekend of performances.
Friday at 1:30 p.m., Miller joins Gulf Coast Live to discuss his approach to performance, how he handles controversial topics in his work, and how he'll translate that approach to working with students in Southwest Florida.
