Sarah Small (born 1979 in Washington D.C.) is a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based American artist, composer, singer, filmmaker, photographer, and performer featured on

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

Silk Road Ensemble Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

GRAMMY The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-Winning album, ''Sing Me Home''. She is known for her photographic and

Tableau Vivant A (; often shortened to ; plural: ), French language, French for "living picture", is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and ...

performance series The Delirium Constructions, singing as part of the Balkan vocal trio Black Sea Hotel, acting as the protagonist in the feature film Butter on the Latch by Josephine Decker, and directing the musical album, new music opera performance, and feature film ''Secondary Dominance.''

Education and career

She attended high school at

The Field School The Field School is a preparatory school in Washington, D.C., located in the old Cafritz mansion on Foxhall Road. The school teaches 6th-12th grade, with about 368 students attending as of the 2019–2020 school year. Notable alumni * * (cla ...

, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and graduated from the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in photography. After graduating from college, Small moved to Brooklyn and worked as a photographer for 13 years. Her work has appeared in publications including

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, and

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

, has been showcased by

John Schaefer John Schaefer is an American radio host and author. A longtime host at WNYC, Schaefer began hosting the influential radio shows ''New Sounds'' in 1982 and ''Soundcheck'' in 2002, and has produced many different programs for other New York Public ...

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

’s

Soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, and exhibited globally at venues including Galerie Caprice Horn (Berlin),

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

(Washington DC), and the

Australian Centre for Photography The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) is a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973. ACP also provides part-time courses and community programs. It is one of the longest running con ...

. She was named one of the “Top 13 Emerging Photographers” working today, by American Photo Magazine. In 2002, Small began studying Bulgarian vocal production in a start-up Bulgarian women's choir, Yasna Voices. In 2006, Yasna Voices traveled on grant to Bulgaria to study with master singer

Kremena Stancheva Kremena Stancheva ( bg, Кремена Станчева; 1941–2013) was a Bulgarian folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre t ...

, a founding member of the Bulgarian women’s choir,

Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares'' (translated as "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices") is a compilation album of modern arrangements of Bulgarian folk songs featuring, among others, the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir, with s ...

. In 2007, Small co-formed Brooklyn's Balkan vocal ensemble, Black Sea Hotel. She has premiered original works with

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

in collaboration with Black Sea Hotel at

St. Ann's Warehouse St. Ann's Warehouse is a performing arts institution in Brooklyn, New York City. Formerly the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street, in 1980 the site was converted into a venue for classical music. Initially known as ''Arts a ...

. and

National Sawdust National Sawdust is a nonprofit music producer and venue in Brooklyn, New York with the goal of providing "composers and musicians across genres... a setting where they are given unprecedented support and critical resources essential to create and ...

, and on stage with

Reggie Watts Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...

and

Sxip Shirey Gene "Sxip" Shirey (pronounced "skip") is an American electric-acoustic composer, performer, and story-teller. Currently based in New York City, he is known for working with found objects, traditional and rare modified instruments, as well as ...

and Joe’s Pub. The vocal trio was featured in Small's Tableau Vivant of The Delirium Constructions in 2011 and headlined the Lund Choral Festival in Scandinavia in 2018. Black Sea Hotel has taught

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

folk singing Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

internationally, with a specialization in songs from

Shopluk Shopi or Šopi ( South Slavic: Шопи) is a regional term, used by a group of people in the Balkans. The areas traditionally inhabited by the ''Shopi'' or ''Šopi'' is called ''Shopluk'' or ''Šopluk'' (Шоплук), a mesoregion, roughly ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Highlights include teaching residences at Sjöviks Folkhögskola in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In 2009, she taught Portrait Photography to seniors at the

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

, and has taught darkroom photography to children and adults. In 2011, her 120-participant Tableau Vivant performance was featured in The Washington Post and The New York Times. In 2012, Small formed Hydra, another vocal trio, and performed with

Sean Ono Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The G ...

and Taxiplasm at The Box. In 2014, Small starred in Butter on the Latch, a

psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

directed by

Josephine Decker Josephine Decker (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, filmmaker, and performance artist. As of 2020 she has directed four experimental feature films: the psychological thriller '' Butter on the Latch'' (2013), the erotic thriller '' Thou ...

, which was on

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

's “10 Best Movies of 2014.” In 2016, Small was invited by

Beth Morrison Beth Morrison is an American producer of contemporary opera. Morrison is known for her collaborations with many artists through her company Beth Morrison Projects includes composers David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Du Yun, Paola Prestini, Kamala Sa ...

and

HERE Arts Center HERE Arts Center is a New York City off-off-Broadway presenting house, founded in 1993. Their location includes two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry in addition to art exhibition space and a cafe ...

’s

PROTOTYPE Festival Prototype Festival is an annual, weeklong contemporary opera and musical theater festival held in New York City. Program Prototype Festival is an annual, weeklong festival of contemporary opera and musical theater. The festival encourages n ...

to premiere her work “Secondary Dominance” on stage, which has since been made into several music videos and a feature film. As a photographer and performance artist, Small has exhibited and lectured internationally for The Lucie Foundation,,

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple ...

Soho, and at the China International Photographic Exhibition granted by the

Ministry of Culture of China The Ministry of Culture (MOC) was a ministry of the government of the People's Republic of China which was dissolved on 19 March 2018. The responsibilities of the MOC, which were assumed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, encompassed cultur ...

Select photography exhibitions

* 2017 - Fast Forward//Rewind, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, US * 2011 - ''Human Time Space'', DOB Hua Lamphong Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand * 2011 - ''Neubacher Inaugural Exhibition'', Neubacher Shor Contemporary, Toronto, Canada * 2010 - 100 Portraits - 100 Photographers, Fotoweek DC, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., US * 2010 - ''Art of Photography Show'', Lyceum Gallery, San Diego, California, US * 2010 - ''Vignettes'', Bleicher/GoLightly Gallery, Santa Monica, California, US * 2010 - ''Art Taipei Forum'',

Taipei World Trade Center The Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC; ) was inaugurated in January 1986 by Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), to provide a single, modern venue that would combine exhibition spac ...

, Taipei, Taiwan * 2009 - ''Bova Images Festival'',

Bova, Calabria Bova (Calabrian Greek: , ''Chòra tu Vùa''; Calabrian: ; grc, ὁ Βούας, translit=ó Boúas) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about ...

, Italy * 2008 - ''Delight and Horror: The Photographs of Sarah Small'', 1000 Words Photography * 2007 - ''Soft Ground, Platform Gallery'', Winnipeg, Canada * 2004 - Art+Commerce Festival, Emerging Photographers, Tobacco Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY, US

Select performance art

* 2017 - PROTOTYPE Festival - ''Secondary Dominanc''e * 2011 - Powerhouse Arena - ''Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions'' * 2011 - Bathhouse Arena - ''Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions'' * 2011 - Skylight One Hanson, Williamsburg Clocktower Building - ''Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions'' * 2010 - 92Y Tribeca - ''Tableau Vivant of the Delirium Constructions''

Filmography

Discography

Select music photography

* 2014 Brooklyn Rider, ''The Brooklyn Rider Almanac'' * 2009 Kitka, ''Cradle Songs'' * 2008 Jan Vogler, ''Tango''! * 2008 Martin Bisi, ''Sirens of the Apocalypse'' * 2007 Jan Vogler, ''Concerti Brillanti'' * 2006 Shara Nova's My Brightest Diamond, ''Bring Me the Workhorse''

Select photography awards

* 2010 - Selected as 1 of 50 Top Finalists for Artists Wanted: Exposure 2010 * 2010 - Selected by

Magenta Foundation The Magenta Foundation is a charitable art publishing house based in Toronto. It was established in 2004 by MaryAnn Camilleri to publish work from both domestic and international emerging artists through exhibitions and publications. In 2005 the fo ...

as 2010 US Flash Forward winner * 2009 - “10 Best 10” Photo Contest Winner - Resource Magazine and Win-Initiative * 2009 - 1 of 2 American finalists selected from 65 countries by ITS#EIGHT International Talent Support, to be flown to Italy for exhibition and award ceremony. * 2009 - Selected 1st Place winner for 2009 Fine Art Xto Nude Image Awards to be exhibited in Farmani Gallery in July. * 2009 - Winner of Magnet Media's Zoom-In-Online Viewfinder's Challenge, judged by David Turner and Redux Pictures Director, Marcel Saba. * 2008 - Chosen as 1 of 13 Top Emerging Talents by American Photo Magazine. * 2008 - Avant Guardian Competition Winner - Surface Magazine * 2008 - Finalist - Critical Mass Competition * 2004 - Emerging Photographer Competition Winner - Art + Commerce

References

External links

Artist's website
* Article written by a performer in Tableau Vivant {{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Sarah 1979 births Living people American artists Rhode Island School of Design alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music American women composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American women singers American people of Jewish descent American women in electronic music Avant-garde singers 21st-century women photographers Nudity in theatre and dance 21st-century American women photographers 21st-century American photographers