Sarah Burney is an independent curator and writer based in New York. Raised in Kuwait and Pakistan, Burney is a specialist of contemporary printmaking and contemporary art from South Asia and the Middle East. She is interested in exploring artists’ materials and processes and diversifying discussions in contemporary art. Her writing and curatorial work is informed by the variety of perspectives Burney has gained in the field.

Burney has a recurring column on Kajalmag.com titled One Piece by. Other recently published writing includes the exhibition essay Hangama Amiri: Reminiscences for Union Pacific Gallery (London), Playing with the Medium: Zarina’s Evolution as an Artist and Printmaker for Sotheby’s, and Zarina (1937-2020) in ArtAsiaPacific Issue 119. In 2018, Burney partnered with Zarina to co-author one of the artist’s last major publications, Directions to My House published by Asian/Pacific/American Institute, New York University. A collection of essays, this seminal book chronicles the fascinating life of Zarina in her own words and images.

Burney co-curated the exhibition Encounter/Exchange (2022) at Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Brookline, MA), curated The New Minimalists (2018) at the Abrons Art Center, and received a Tulsa Artist Fellowship curatorial fellowship (2019).

Burney’s professional experience spans a range of spaces in the field— from the studio of established artist Zarina, to the community printmaking studio Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (RBPMW), to feminist art collectives South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC) and the Guerrilla Girls. Burney also has extensive experience in the commercial sphere and has collaborated with and managed projects for Bodhi Art (NY), Gallery Espace (India), The Multiple Store (UK), and Letternoon.com (NY). As Zarina’s studio manager from 2009-2013, she worked on critical projects, including Zarina: Paper Like Skin, The Hammer Museum (2011), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2012), The Art Institute of Chicago (2012); and Everybody Agrees: It's About to Explode, Indian Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011). At RBPMW Burney managed a busy calendar of printmaking classes, artist talks, exhibitions, and an annual fellowship award. She represented the workshop at national print fairs and managed fundraising initiatives. As a board member of SAWCC from 2014-2016, Burney secured funding for the organization from both New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (NYCDCA) and developed programs at Asian Pacific American Institute at New York University (2015), the Asian American Writers Workshop (2015), and Abrons Art Center. She holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Wellesley College with a focus in printmaking. She is currently part of the Fully Booked Advisory Circle.

RECENT PROJECTS:
Hangama Amiri: Reminiscences
Exhibition essay for Union Pacific Gallery (London)

Encounter/Exchange at Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Brookline, MA)
An exhibition featuring Tiffany Calvert and Naomi Reis
Co-curated with Amethyst Rey Beaver

Golnar Adili Artist Talk with writers Sarah Burney & Emily Chun
Conversation presented by the Center for Book Arts and the CUE Art Foundation

One piece by…
Interview column on Kajalmag.com

Directions to My House
By Zarina Hashmi with Sarah Burney
Published by NYU’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute