Scholar, curator named Canada Research Chair

Sarah Smith is a professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (submitted photo). Western professor Sarah Smith has been named new Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Art, Culture and Global Relations (Tier 2), part of a new round of investments announced today by the Government of Canada totaling more than $151 million. Smith's research will focus on cultural diplomacy, examining how art, exhibitions, museums, and other forms of culture facilitate relationships among those who work in the arts, including artists, cultural workers and arts administrators. "Through this work I hope to expand the traditionally narrow understanding of cultural diplomacy that has historically focused on dominant political actors," Smith said. Smith, who joined Western from Carleton University last fall, is a professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and is affiliated with Western's Centre for Sustainable Curating , a teaching and research hub focused on environmental and social justice and developing exhibitions and artworks with low carbon footprints. A founding member of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI) and a fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute , Smith was the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California in 2015. She held a postdoctoral fellowship with the Transnational Studies Initiative at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs from 2014 to 2016, and a Banting postdoctoral fellowship in the department of English and film studies at the University of Alberta in 2016.