KAREN MILLS

DURING HER CHILDHOOD, KAREN MILLS KNEW LITTLE about the origins of her Aboriginal family. Born in Katherine in the Northern Territory, she was adopted as a baby and raised in South Australia. After leaving home, she returned to the Territory to reconnect with her family history, so we started our conversation with_Karen in the years after that key point in her life.

You became an artist later in life; what led you to this decision?

I was 35 years old when I started studying at the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University). It was a time in my life where I had the opportunity to become a mature-age student and I had a supportive partner who encouraged me to go and study. Art just seemed like a natural choice. I had loved art when I