Sarah Rose (they/she) is a Gadigal/Sydney-based curator and arts worker currently working at Artspace as the Associate Curator. In recent years, they have curated extensively across independent and council-run spaces, collaborating closely with artists to develop group and solo exhibitions. They were listed as a curator setting the tone for the year ahead in the ‘Tastemaker’ section of Art Collector Magazine’s 50 Things Collectors Should Know issue (Jan–Mar 2023), and their curated exhibition In the fibre of her being (2021-22) at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery received a 2022 MGNSW IMAGinE Award.
At the nucleus of their practice is bolstering artists and arts workers through advocacy. This is embodied in their previously held positions at the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), Create NSW, and in their outgoing position as Coordinator for Contemporary Arts Organisations Australia (CAOA), a network of fifteen non-profit peer organisations from every state and territory across Australia. In addition, they hold a Masters of Curating & Cultural Leadership with Excellence and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from UNSW Art & Design.
Rose is Co-founder and Curator for More Than Reproduction, reflecting their objectives to facilitate collective modes of exchange, knowledge-sharing and peer support, with an ongoing drive to support early-career artists. They were a former Co-Chair at AIRspace Projects in Marrickville, and former member of the Art Gallery of NSW’s 2019 Youth Collective.
Curatorially, their practice reflects their interests into trace and imbued materiality, navigating the experiences that underpin our innate humanness, from its inherent dualisms to how these experiences shift between the singular and collective. Their current research is focused on representations of queer and gendered experiences, as well as technological interventions in museological spaces.
about me
Education
Masters of Curating and Cultural Leadership with Excellence, UNSW Art and Design, 2018 – 2019
Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction (Printmaking + Photography), UNSW Art and Design, 2015 – 2017
Awards
MGNSW 2022 IMAGinE Award, In the fibre of her being at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery, 2022
Boards | Committees | Collectives | Artist-Run Initiatives
More Than Reproduction, Artist-Run Printmaking Initiative, Co-founder + Curator, 2019 – ongoing
Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOA), Coordinator, 2022 – ongoing
AIRspace Projects, Marrickville, Co-Chair, 2022 – 2023
Art Gallery of NSW 2019 Youth Collective, 2019 – 2020
Academic & Faculty Board, Postgraduate Representative, UNSW Art & Design, 2019
Professional Positions
Associate Curator, Artspace, Sydney, 2022 – ongoing
Independent Curator, 2019 – ongoing
Arts Development Officer, Create NSW, 2021 – 2022
Arts Administrator, National Association for the Visual Arts, 2020 – 2022
Curatorial & Collections Assistant, Internship, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick, September – October 2019
Media | News
Alumni Interview: UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture, September 2024
Feature: 50 Things Collectors Should Know, Tastemaker, Art Collector Magazine, January – March 2023 issue, written by Briony Downes
Review: ’Weaving resistance’ , The Saturday Paper, November 2021, review of In the fibre of her being by Neha Kale
Preview: In the fibre of her being, September/October 2021 issue, Art Guide Australia, preview by Briony Downes
'2.9 Aiden Visits In the fibre of her being’, Hung Up Podcast, hosted by Matt Sitas & Aiden Loughlin, November 2021
Interview: Shifting Terrain: Photographic Hybrids exhibition, So Hot Right Now 2ser 107.3FM, hosted by Nicole Beck, November 2019
Feature: ‘More Than Reproduction’, September 2021, Imprint Magazine, Print Council of Australia, written by Viva Hall
Selected Projects
Current: Juanita McLauchlan: guuma-li / gather / Lead Curator / Jan–May 2025 / Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney
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Upcoming: Amongst the clouds (digital materialities in the 21st Century) / Assistant Curator / May –Aug 2025 / Artspace, Sydney
Upcoming: Perform–Print–ing (working title) / Guest Curator, More Than Reproduction Partnership / Jun 2025 / Sydenham International, Sydney
Upcoming: 2025 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) / Lead Curator / Aug–Nov 2025 / Artspace, Sydney
Upcoming: Christopher Kulendran Thomas: Peace Core / Curatorial team / Nov 2025 – Jan 2026 / Artspace, Sydney
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soft tongues, gritted teeth / Guest Curator / Feb–Mar 2025 / Gallery Lane Cove, Sydney
Shireen Taweel: Cosmographic / 2024 / Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney
Rachael Helmore // from moment to moment to moment / 2024 / Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney
2024 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) / 2024 / Artspace, Sydney
to look each other in the eye / 2024 / Parramatta Artists Studios Partnership / Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney
expand, contract, expand again / More Than Reproduction / 2024 / Print Council of Australia Gallery, Melbourne
Groundfloor 2024 / Guest Presenter / More Than Reproduction / March 2024
Groundfloor 2024 / Guest Presenter / Artspace / March 2024
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 – Encounters Sector / Assistant Curator / March 2024 / Hong Kong
Edition Five / More Than Reproduction / 2024 / Broadhurst Gallery / Hazelhurst Arts Centre
Debra Phillips: LOUPE / 2023 / Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney
2023 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) / 2023 / Carriageworks
Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 – Encounters Sector / Assistant Curator / March 2023 / Hong Kong
Cut ‘n’ Polish / 2023 / More Than Reproduction / Carriageworks
Edition Four / 2023 / More Than Reproduction / Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios
Hey Siri, can you die of a broken heart? / 2022 / AIRspace Projects
Pillow Talk / 2022 / Abstract Thoughts Gallery
with fragile objects comes devotion / 2022 / Goodspace
MISPRINT / 2022 / More Than Reproduction / Gaffa Gallery
Edition Three / 2023 / More Than Reproduction / Bankstown Arts Centre
In the fibre of her being / 2021-22 / Fairfield City Museum & Gallery
as above, so below / 2021 / AIRspace Projects
Hybrid Ground / 2021 / Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
Dimensions Variable / 2021 / More Than Reproduction / AIRspace Projects
Edition Two / 2021 / More Than Reproduction / White Rhino Artspace
Print in isolation / 2020 / More Than Reproduction / Online
Edition One / 2020 / More Than Reproduction / Gaffa Gallery
Shifting Terrain: Photographic Hybrids / 2019 / AIRspace Projects
Still We Rise / 2019 / Down/Under Space
Dual Bodies / 2019 / AIRspace Projects
this is a conversation piece / 2019 / 107 Projects
In Our Nature / 2019 / Broadhurst Gallery, Hazelhurst Arts Centre
More Than Reproduction / 2018 / AD Space