معرفی
Dr. Sarah E.K. Smith is an Associate Professor at Western University’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies and holds the SSHRC Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Art, Culture and Global Relations. She is a leading scholar in cultural diplomacy and contemporary art, with a focus on how art institutions shape international engagement. Smith co-founded the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI) and leads the Practitioner Media Lab, a CFI-funded platform for co-produced research with cultural practitioners.
- Ph.D. in Art History, Queen’s University (2014)
- 2015 Canada-US Fulbright Visiting Research Chair
- 2023 Co-edited Museum Diplomacy with Sascha Priewe
Her research spans contemporary art, museum diplomacy, and decolonial aesthetics, analyzing art’s role in global politics and free trade. Key publications include the open-access monograph Trading on Art: Cultural Diplomacy and Free Trade in North America (UBC Press, 2025) and General Idea: Life & Work (Art Canada Institute, 2016). Her work has appeared in TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, Journal of Modern Craft, and Journal of Canadian Studies.
Recent projects include the 2025 exhibition The Air of the Now and Gone at Carleton University Art Gallery and a 2024 workshop on museum diplomacy at the Aga Khan Museum. Smith actively collaborates with institutions like the Centre for Sustainable Curating and the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora.
- 2014 Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal
- 2020 Best Article Prize, Journal of Canadian Studies
- 2023 Co-edited Museum Diplomacy (Rowman & Littlefield)
- 2025 Trading on Art open-access monograph
Smith’s 15 most recent articles (2008–2025) explore themes such as decolonial art, museum diplomacy, surveillance regimes, and Canada-Brazil cultural exchanges, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach blending art history, political theory, and global policy analysis.
