Sarah Evans

Sarah Evans is an Associate Professor in the School of Art and Design within the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University. Her academic focus spans modern and contemporary art history with particular expertise in film, photography, Indigenous art of North America, and theoretical frameworks including feminist theory, queer theory, and postmodernism.

Dr. Evans received her academic training through a well-established path in the humanities:

• Ph.D. in Art History from the University of California at Berkeley (2004)
• M.A. in Methodologies for the Study of Western History and Culture from Trent University (1998)
• B.A. in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto (1990)

Following her doctoral work, she held prestigious postdoctoral fellowships at Berkeley's College of Letters and Science and Cornell University's Society for the Humanities.

Professor Evans's research centers on critical examinations of contemporary art practices through multiple theoretical lenses. Her work particularly investigates the intersections of gender, identity, and representation in the work of artists like Bharti Kher and Cindy Sherman. She explores how reproductive labor, hybridity, and appropriation function within contemporary visual culture, often connecting these artistic practices to broader social justice concerns. Her scholarship demonstrates a consistent engagement with feminist perspectives on art history and the ways in which visual culture both reflects and shapes societal power structures.

Her publication record shows a consistent focus on contemporary art movements and specific artists, with particular attention to the Pictures Generation and contemporary Indian artists. Her work spans exhibition reviews, theoretical analyses, and historical investigations of alternative art spaces, demonstrating both breadth and depth in her scholarly approach.

Professor Evans teaches a range of courses that reflect her research interests, including Introduction to Modern Arts and Design (ARTH 292), History of Contemporary Art (ARTH 350), and Art Historical Methodologies (ARTH 486/586). She also offers specialized courses on Global Moderns and Contemporaries and Forming Identities in Modern and Contemporary Art, providing students with opportunities to engage deeply with current theoretical frameworks in art history.

As a dedicated faculty member, Professor Evans advises graduate students in the School of Art and Design's MA and MFA programs, particularly those focusing on modern and contemporary art history. Her mentorship emphasizes critical thinking, theoretical engagement, and methodological rigor in art historical research.