Sarah Rose Sharp, CV
ARTS WRITER
DETROIT, EMERGING ARTISTS, SOCIAL CRITIQUE
Creative generalist and writer of arts criticism and philosophy, with an established values system around writing as a mechanism for inclusivity and understanding between typically disparate groups, including art makers and consumers, and Detroiters and non-Detroiters. Leverages positive regard, accessibility, promotion of viewer agency, clarity of language, and sincerity of tone as tools for enabling an appreciation for art in viewers of all kinds. An active participant in the Detroit art scene and contributor to ArtinAmerica.com, Hyperallergic.com, Knight Arts blog, Essay’d, ZIPR, and Infinite Mile. http://sarahrosesharp.com
AWARDS
2015 Art Writers Grant Program – AICA Writing Workshop
2015 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow; Arts Criticism
PUBLICATIONS
THE BELIEVER · Spring 2016 (Issue #115 – publication pending) –
“The Process: Flags of the Fante Asafo” – Interview with DIA African Arts Curator Nii Quarcoopome
PINE MAGAZINE · Spring 2016 (Issue #1 – publication pending)
“Building New Ways of Seeing with Claire Pastaille” – profile of emerging collage artist Claire Pastaille
“Evelyne Axell: Self-Actualization” – A retrospective look at the little-known female Pop artist of the 1960s
ART IN AMERICA.com · 2015
“Experimental Mindset: An Interview Andrew Blauvelt” – Oct. 2015
“United States of Latin America: A Conversation with Jens Hoffmann and Pablo León de la Barra” – Sept. 2015
HYPERALLERGIC.com · 2014 to Present
12/2015
Death by a Thousand Operas
Art That Forces Us to Face the Cruelty of the Human Animal
The 17 Pairs of Hands That Spun a Little Black Dress into Existence
Combing Through the Hegemony of Hair
In Five Decades of Self-Portraits, an Artist Refuses to Tone Down Her Feelings
11/2015
Visions of Detroit’s Past and Future in Clay and Cardboard
The 17 Pairs of Hands That Spun a Little Black Dress into Existence
Slicing Up a Limo as a Metaphor for Detroit
Composing the Sounds of Detroit into a Symphony
Surreal Still Lifes of Objects and Their Memories
10/2015
An Artist Couple Explores…Not-So-Sexy Realities of Intimacy
Detroit Artists Take a Hammer to Traditional Ceramics
From Carcasses of Cloth…Some Highlights of ArtPrize 2015
A Family Auction House’s…Microhistory of Detroit
An Inquiry into Identity at ArtPrize
Two Ceramicists Craft Domestic Intricacies
Two Tony Suburban Galleries Move into Detroit
With Custom-Designed Galleries…Columbus Museum of Art Opens New Wing
At the Heidelberg Project’s New Gallery… Facsimiles of Wilderness
9/2015
Decaying Barns Transformed Into Art
A Polychromatic Playground of Inflatable Structures
An Art Festival that Unfolds in Real Time
A Spoken Word Artist Goes…Detroit’s Redevelopment
Public Portraits Honor Detroit’s Storied Writers and Poets
From Peeling Skin to Talking Dolls…Detroit Design Festival
A Video Game Pits Michael Jackson Against Himself
8/2015 – Immersed in Painting, Sound…a Detroit Artist Reimagines Space
Animations That Leave You Psychically Altered
Glasgow Artists Flock to Detroit for a Creative Exchange
A Group Show Where Criticism is Process
On a Block in Chicago, a Participatory Project Visualizes Jail Data
Another Oblivious Artist Comes to Detroit…Lets Tiger Loose
An Abandoned Department Store Stocks Up on Art
Artists Trade Their Work for Plane Rides and Gallons of Paint
7/2015
A Public Art Biennial Takes Over a City in Sweden
Elastic and Rigid Objects That Bend Our Point of View
After Years of Battling…an Artist Opens a Sculpture Park in Detroit
A Detroit Design Collective Uses Plastic Molding as a Medium
Museum Plants Artworks in Detroit’s Community Gardens
Nick Cave on “Tackling Really Hard Issues” with Art
6/2015
Unpacking the Contradictions in Quiet Ceramic Tableaus
Envisioning Detroit as a Postindustrial Boomtown
Dancing Out Our Inner Demons
5/2015
Building Monuments Amid Detroit’s Modern Day Ruins
The Surprisingly Improvisational Sounds of Automatic Music
In Detroit, and Arts Festival Crosses Borders
4/2015
An Artist Turns Invasive Plants into Paper Sculptures
Women’s Rage: A Conversation with the Creator of ‘Bitch Planet’
Art X Detroit Lives Up to the City’s Vibrant Cultural Life
3/2015
Curating a Contemporary Cabinet of Curiosities
A Detroit Artist…Gooey Abstraction and Concrete Social Change
One City, Two Experimental Play, A Whole Lot of Creative Women
2/2015
Feeling at Home with Alison Bechdel
1/2015
Reading David Foster Wallace for the Colors
12/2014
A Biennial Beyond the Art World
ESSAY’D.org · 2014 to Present – Short online essays about canonical Detroit artists –
(Print publication pending, Essay’d: On Detroit Artists (vol.1) Wayne State University Press – Fall 2016)
12/2015 – Greg Fadell
11/2015 – Ben Hall
9/2015 – Kia Ixchel Arriaga
8/2015 – Toby Millman
7/2015 – Andy Malone
6/2015 – Mary Fortuna
5/2015 – Michael McGillis
4/2015 – Andrew Krieger
3/2015 – Susan Goethel Campbell
2/2015 – Lynne Avadenka
11/2014 – Rose DeSloover
10/2014 – Tzarinas of the Plane
9/2014 – Corrie Baldauf
ZENITH INDEX OF PUBLIC RECORD (ZIPR) · 2014 to 2015 –
5/2015 – ZIPR Issue #4 –
“MALT: _ _ _ _ is the Word”
2/2015 – ZIPR Issue #2 –
“Communism Means Never Selling Out: Diego Rivera and the Detroit Industry Murals”
12/2014 – ZIPR Issue #1 –
“Jerry Vile: Self-Appointed Court Jester in the Court of High Art”
“Running at the Speed of Impulse with Michelle Tanguay”
INFINITE MILE · 2014 to 2015 –
Summer/2015 – Issue #19 – “How to be an Art Critic”
10/2014 – Issue #10 – “Detroitivores & the Rise of Post-Industrial Revolution”
3/2014 – Issue #4 – “Preface: Art as a Living Practice”
EDUCATION
University of California at Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz, California
Bachelor of Fine Arts; Theater Arts (Costuming emphasis)
California Merit Scholarship, Creative Writing – CSSSA, Valencia (Summer, 1996)
EARLY PUBLICATIONS
KNIGHT ARTS BLOG · 2012 to Present –
Detroit Art & Culture Blogger – weekly blog posts about arts and cultural events; to date, 200+ posts covering a wide range of events, trends, artist profiles, etc.
UNTAPPED CITIES.com · 2012 –
3/2012 – “A Peek Into Detroit’s Benjamin Siegel House”
“CHANGING STATES” · 2009 –
Self-published book of writing and photographs from a road trip to all 50 United States
- Twitter Resident, New Media Scotland (April 1-May 31, 2009) – http://www.mediascot.org/changingstates
ARTIST TALKS/VISITING CRITIC
Guest Juror, “Borders” Great Lakes Regional Art Exhibition –
Owen Center for Fine & Performing Art/River House Arts, Perrysburg, Ohio (Feb/March 2016)
Guest Lecturer, “Arts Writing as a Platform & Transmission of Critical Voice Through the Web” –
Wayne State University (December 2015)
“Jessercise” Artist talk with Jessica Frelinghuysen – Hamtramck, Michigan (November 2015)
“Emergency Ark” Launch/Artist talk w/ Scott Hocking – Port Austin, Michigan (October 2015)
Sampled (group show) w/ Lynn Crawford @ CAVE Gallery – Detroit, Michigan (August 2015)
Visiting Critic, Eastern Michigan University Graduate Seminar (February, 2014)