Biography

Sarah Mann is a visual research artist who works under a humanistic lens. The running theme through Sarah’s work is borders, and the overarching intent is connection.

With an acknowledgement of her own positionality, Sarah’s practice concerns social geography and approaches this in multiple forms. One of which is, visual story telling. Through drawing, print making, 3D and installation she researches and records traces and places of disconnection – such as borders, othering, misinformation and ignorance. Visually transposing information through a careful monochromatic language.

Another way is through working together with people – exploring art and our entwined environments together. She works with children, young people and adults on creative workshops inside and outside of Dutch asylum seeker centres. Along side participatory art projects with local and international communities, the most recent being Hand Drawn Homes.

Born into a working-class family on the edge of a Regency town in the South West Midlands of England, Sarah’s work has developed inline with a personal search for understanding oneself in relation to place. During her master studies in Arts and Society at Utrecht University, Sarah further researched socio-political relationships with place, and the impact of which these have on our relationships with others. Her research culminated in a thesis on the topic of the value of access to art for people who sit in “outside places” – specifically asylum seeker centres (azc’s) in the Netherlands. This was done in conjunction with her internship at National Stichting de Vroljikheid azc Almere and azc Leersum.

Sarah is open to collaborating with relevant organisations and projects and is currently looking for exhibition opportunities and residency programs within The Netherlands, Europe and online. Contact sarahmann.va@gmail.com