Colette Miller explains how her acclaimed Global Angel Wings Project went from an artistic effort to relieve Angelenos from daily ad bombardment to a social phenomenon.
Colette Miller has been painting and traveling the world since finishing VCU Art School in Virginia. Lacking funds, Colette survived by picking olives in Crete, working at a falafel stand in Israel, hitchhiking and sleeping on the side of the road when necessary. Throughout her journey, she continued to pursue her love of painting.
The Angel Wings Project began in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, in 2012. It started as a spontaneous act, an expression of hope, a gift to the community, painted on a public wall without permission. Colette’s first set of wings took flight on their own. Passers-by began posing / taking pictures in front the wings and sharing them on social media. Soon thereafter, people from all walks of life captured and shared their very own wings portraits. Colette began receiving requests to create more sets of wings from business owners, non-profit organizations and individuals. Colette’s wings have taken her to Kenya, Australia, Mexico and across the United States.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx