Zelda aka Judith Z. Miller is a multifaceted Queer elder: visual artist, performer, writer, producer, budding percussionist, workshop leader, and healer who lives in an erotic, musical, spiritual universe. As a feminist Jew who studies shamanism, she is inspired by the beauty of nature and the guiding force of her intuition as she explores the themes of connection to the Earth, spirituality, sexuality and gender via a variety of art forms.

In 2022 Zelda was awarded a NYSCA/NYFA Disability Grant, and in 20211she was selected to participate in the NYSCA/NYFA/Entrepreneur Program presented by Arts Mid-Hudson. In 2019, Zelda developed her solo show Que Será, Será: A Life’s Journey of Sexual Orientation & Gender Expression under an Arts Mid-Hudson Individual Artist Commission, which premiered at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center and was live-streamed and recorded by Radio Kingston. The show video was shown nationally and internationally at multiple Fringe festivals. In 2022, Arts Mid-Hudson’s Jumpstart grant supported performances of Que Será, Será at the Lace Mill artist residence in Kingston NY, with the support of Radio Kingston as its Community Partner. Que Será, Será was also performed at the Rosendale Theatre in honor of LGBTQ Pride and is now available on HUDSY TV and housed in the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, New York. Zelda was also awarded an NEA Arts Management Fellowship in Theatre and a Fractured Atlas Development Grant to study with Tommy Joseph, Master Native American (Tlingit) Carver in Alaska. She was a winner of the British Airways Face of Opportunity Contest.

Recent local performance highlights include “Avant-Garde-Arama,” the “Woodstock Book Fest Story Slam” at the Bearsville Theatre, the Morton Memorial Library’s “Monologue Madness” benefit, the Unicorn Bar, Kingston’s Got Talent, Green Kill “White Noise” sessions, and the Rosendale Theatres “Love is Love” short play festival. Zelda has performed at such venues as Source, GALA Hispanic Theatre, The Fine Line Actors Theatre, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in NYC at WOW Café Theatre and Dixon Place. The TMI Project in Kingston, New York, declared Zelda “Storyteller of the Week” twice and, in 2022, featured her as part of their multiple award-winning Pride Stories Podcast. Zelda performed online with Spoonie Theatre, and Studio Theatre in Exile has featured her true-life video stories and art. Zelda’s hand-carved ‘Sacred Staffs’, along with a fashion show of her handmade jewelry, were presented by the Prospect Park Alliance in honor of Arbor Day at the Boathouse in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and seen by over 8,000 visitors. She was twice a Featured Artist in the Woodstock Jewish Congregation’s Gallery Lev Shalem, featured multiple times by The Blunt Media and by Art by Women in the Arts on Instagram. She has shown visual art work at the Olive Free Library, included in the Passover Haggadah created by the United Kingdom’s LGBT+ Laviot, in the Lavender Review, and in solo shows at the Kingston Public Library, the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union and The National Museum of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History Community Center in NYC. Her visual art has been part of numerous Arts Mid-Hudson and Lace Mill gallery shows, the “Visibles” Zine Journal, and displayed at many other venues.

Zelda was profiled in The Daily News; the subject of feature articles in Mann About Town magazine, Home News Tribune, In Brooklyn, The Park Slope Paper, The Wave, and The Daily Sitka Sentinel, Shawangunk Journal, the Kingston Wire, and featured on NY-1 Television and Spectrum TV. Zelda is published in Inside Arts magazine, The Washington Post, American Theatre magazine, Ecosexuality: When Nature Inspires the Arts of Love, and she contributed to Queeries Blog and Zine. Her paper ‘Sometimes A Tree Isn’t Just a Tree’ was read at the International Linguistic Conference in Morocco.

Zelda lives at the Lace Mill artist residence in Kingston, New York, with her Great Dane Mademoiselle ZaZelle.

Artist Statement

As a Queer, Jewish, gender non-conforming Elder navigating this tumultuous time, I confront disbelief, disappointment, grief, and rage. This journey propels me to investigate the essence of my being as a multi-media artist, storyteller, producer, and collaborator.

My lifelong questioning and coming out process have stimulated an internal curiosity and bravery, leading me to self-love and acceptance. Coming out publicly ignited a desire to share the messy truths of my life, supporting others on their paths to liberation. My creative process serves as a means of self-discovery, reflecting my inner experience through memory and ecstatic states, all seen through the lens of my gender/spiritually-fluid body.

I have experienced my body as a source of shame, a political battleground, and an inspiration—a spectrum of encounters that inform my often unconventional artistic media. My practices draw from actor training, Gestalt therapy “HotSeat” work, mirroring sculptural poses, and improvisation to embody character. Much of my artistic exploration arises from personal crises; delving into the unknown can be both terrifying and exhilarating. Even amid stage fright, I flourish in the “fertile pause,” where the audience hangs on every word.

Guided by intuition and shamanic visualization, I have produced several series of “Spiritual Self Portraits” across various media, each inspiring new work and broader spiritual perspectives. These explorations culminated in my multi-media show, "Que Será Será: A Life’s Journey of Sexual Orientation & Gender Expression," funded twice by Arts Mid-Hudson. This brutally honest full-length performance features images from my life, historical events, and my original art. I reveal aspects of my life I once hesitated to disclose. As an artist, I feel obligated to take such risks to uplift lives of authenticity.

At this crucial historical juncture, it’s essential to speak out, break free from societal constraints, resist conformity, and create work that reveals raw truths. I aim to support those on the margins, ensuring they are seen, validated, and respected. By actively engaging with diverse community groups and serving as an outspoken creative voice, I advocate for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups whose nuanced voices are often silenced. Through entertaining, educating, and cultivating common ground, I aspire to challenge distorted narratives fueling misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic hate, hoping my audience sees themselves reflected, experiences compassion, and gains the strength to carry on.