Sarah T. Skinner's Bio
Sarah was born on the hospital waiting room floor in Mt. Vernon, Washington a 2.5lb preemie with a very rare birth defect
called Gastroscesis. Gastroscesis is where a new-born babies’ intestines are developed outside of the stomach and the
challenge is to put them back in. Wrapped in bandages she was rushed to Children’s Hospital to undergo numerous
surgeries. She was restrained, unable to be touched and fed through her heart for five months, with about a 10% survival
rate. Sarah’s parents were practicing Buddhists and as a result and in support of the family’s trials, a Buddhist priest flew in
from Japan to help pray for Sarah’s recovery. During her very tenuous struggle for her survival, the visiting priest proposed
the middle name of Takako for Sarah which means “child of life”. After months of prayer, hope and tears Sarah Takako
Skinner was brought home, a healthy baby. Sarah continued on with a normal and healthy childhood.
Immediately after highschool graduation Sarah left Seattle and backpacked solo for 9 months around Fiji, New Zealand and
Australia. On the last leg of her travels in Sydney, Australia Sarah decided that she would dedicate herself to the creative
arts and to pursue a personal mission to be a service to others.
Upon arriving back in the US, Sarah auditioned and was accepted into the Northwest Actor’s Theatre’s two-year intensive
school. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and within the year landed a lead role in the Young Playwrights Festival.
Additionally, Sarah landed acting roles in three independent films and contributed to the development of a screenplay.
Concurrently, Sarah began to learn and fall madly in love with the art of photography. This motivated her to move back to
Seattle and enroll into Bellevue Community College to earn her AA. It was then off to London for 12 months to study fine art
photography at the American Intercontinental University on Marylebone High Street.
Sarah then came back to Seattle and was granted admission into the University of Washington’s Art school and graduated
with honors with a Bachelors of Fine Art.
Since that time Sarah has been on a fast track with nine photography shows in and around the Seattle area. A public art
project that she produced with Harborview Medical Center (that was inspired from her birth battle of Gastroscesis) was
published on front page in the Seattle PI along with a televised interview by NBC affiliate KING 5 about the project. http://
www.seattlepi.com/local/259912_hope17.html and http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4180726.html <http://
www.komonews.com/news/archive/4180726.html>
Sarah moved back to Seattle summer of 2008 after interning for a year at the prestigious Australian Center for Photography
in Sydney, Australia. She recently completed some new innovated works of “Triptychs” that showed at the Center of
Contemporary Art (CoCA) in Seattle.
Currently, Sarah is bouncing back and forth from Seattle, Los Angeles and Paris for a variety of exciting projects and
commissioned portraits.
Resume
Education:
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9/05-3/07 BFA – Photography at the University of Washington, Golden Key International Honour Student
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1/04-8/04 – Photography American Intercontinental University London Dean’s list
110 Marylebone High Street, London, England W1U 4RY
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12/12/03 Bellevue Community College
3605 Bellevue Way Drive, Bellevue, Washington 98045
Phi Theta Kappa Honour Student completing my AA
Show
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4/09 Takako, Center of Contemporary of Art. , Seattle, WA
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5/07 BFA Student Show, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle, WA
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4/07 Untitled, Café Ladro, Seattle. WA. Curator: Katy Kelly
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2/07 On a Second Glance, Café Vita, Seattle, WA. Curator: Katy Kelly
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9/05 Mexico, Freemont Coffee House, Seattle, WA. Curator: Corrine Taylor
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5/04 The Untouchables, AIU London’s annual student show, London, UK.
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7/03 The Self as I Remember, JAG Design Studio, Seattle, WA. Curator: John Gasgon
Awards/Publications
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03/2006 Komo 4 - 5 o’clock news. “Students Take On Challenge to Photograph Hope” http://www.komonews.com/
news/archive/4180726.html
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2/17/06 Seattle Post Intelligencer, Front page spread: Portraits of Hope http://www.seattlepi.com/local/
259912_hope17.html
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2005 Biannual North-West Art, Poet and Artist book, Cover and publication
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2004 Annual US College Photo Contest, Honourable Mention, and publication in annual book.
Clients
Commissioned private clients, Seattle Art Museum, Henry Art Museum, French DJ group DirtyPhonics, Subterfuge E-
Magazine, Club Vibes, See Sound Lounge, D-List Magazine, Chop Suey, DJ ensemble Lets Get Dirty.
Internships
1.
01/09 - 6/09 Marketing and Project Manager Assistant Internship: Bridges to Understanding, a Non-Profit Org., Seattle:
Assisting in the implementation of the 2009 Marketing Strategic Plan under the guidance of the Exec. Director. Currently
evaluating and reorganizing the way we store our data to increase productivity. Asked to review the implementation proposal
for the strategic plan and encouraged to question when there are discrepancies or contradictions in information or intention
of implementation, essentially fulfilling a Project Manager role. Asked to directly establish and organize a Student Body
Council to help give BU’s students a voice and power in the company; currently generating ideas via research and
interviews from other non-profit org’s with current Student Body Councils. Participating in the organizational committee in the
2009 Fundraising Dinner. Two things I have been asked to do for this is research/find a venue and establish an advertising
strategy that includes promotion as well as press participation via radio, newspaper, websites and press releases. Reports to
Executive Director Joyce McClure and External Communications and Marketing Manager Annie Von Essen 206-925-5311
2.
01/09 - 04/09 Facilitator Internship: PhotoVision, Seattle WA. Working directly with bi/gay/transgender youth with Holga
cameras. Facilitating young adults over a six-month period to create a body of work that expresses what Community means
and its impact on his/her daily life. Teach how a camera functions, how to load film, how to critique his/her own work, how to
express what he/she is trying to say. After the six-months the youth will pick the best images, frame, hang and show the
photographs. Manager: Calla Chancellor, Instructional Consultant 206-616-7945
3.
01/08 – 06-08 Australian Center for Photography. Installed and organized shows, assisted media director with press
and artist media packets, hospitality work at exhibition openings hospitality work at exhibition openings, and distributing
promotional materials.
4.
04/06 – 08/06 - Thread: Wrote press releases, research, event planning, maintained relationships with artists, Branding,
brainstorming ideas, photographing product shots. Manager: Rhonda Howard. Contact at: rhonda@thread.net
5.
10/05-01/06, Internship, Soil Gallery, a Non-Profit Artist Run Co-op, Seattle WA. Internship: succeeded in getting SOIL’s
first computer and software all through donation. Prioritized/organized administrative tasks to increase productivity and
workflow. Investigated best practices of likeminded organizations in the areas of promotion, fundraising and artist support.
Then taking these best practices and evaluating their usefulness in how it applies to SOILS’s business model. Engaged
artists members in dialogue and email communication to assess SOIL’s problems and needs and then facilitated dialogue
for solutions. Manager: Mary Simpson 206-685-3751
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