Brief Biography
Gwenneth Miller is an established visual arts researcher, described by reviewers “as exemplary and of national and growing international standing”. Furthermore, her artistic practice “integrates theoretical frameworks, ranging from psychoanalysis and posthumanism to material thinking and ecological philosophy, into a diverse practice that includes drawing, painting, curation, installation, and digital media” (Report of international reviewers by National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa, 2025). 

Miller was appointed as an art lecturer at Unisa in 1997, the same year in which she completed her Masters in Fine Art in the aesthetics of the sublime at the University of Pretoria. During the early lecturing years, she initiated several local and African collaborative projects, such as the large-scale projections for the play Die Verraaier (2003), performed at the Aula (University of Pretoria), and the multimedia project the Journey to Freedom Narratives (2004), performed at ZK Matthews Hall, Unisa. The Journey project travelled to several museums in the USA (2005-2008) and empowered multiple rural communities, students and alumni.  

During her doctoral research, she applied models of intermedial theory from literary arts to visual arts. Through practice-led research, the interdisciplinary dialogue was explored not only through text but also in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, installation and digital processes. In this doctoral research her curatorial skills were demonstrated in the large exhibition TRANSCODE: dialogues around multimedia practice (2011) at Unisa Art gallery.  Miller continues to empower contemporary artists through collaborative curation as supportive of creative output research.

She has been the recipient of various awards: Gregoire Boonzaier Prize for Painting as a student (1983 & 1984);Financial Award from Potchefstroom University, youth ambassador residency, Taiwan (199); the FNB Gold Award: the collaborative project the Journey to Freedom narratives (2004), Unisa Woman of the Year Nominee: for leadership and mentorship roles in relation to Women-in-the-Workplace (2007), a Unisa Women-in-Research Award (2012), the meritorious Robin Aldwinckle bursary, and the award for Creative Output Excellence by Unisa (2021). In 2025 she received the much-desired C2 rating by NRF and a trophy award for Innovation and Research by Unisa, recognising her valuable contribution to the South African academic and visual art culture. 

Miller participated in numerous national and international art exhibitions, and her works are represented in private and public collections such as ABSA Bank, Telkom, Centurion City Council, UNISA (University of South Africa), SAMHS (South African Military Health Services), SASOL, Northwest University, The Art Bank (South Africa), SANAVA (South African Association of Visual Artists) and Pretoria Art Museum.