I’ve been a practicing artist since 2006, and have exhibited widely, both locally and internationally.
I trained as a sculptor then as a jeweller. My work is ideas-based and takes many forms.
Taken out, 2023
Ten dollar brooches, 2026 | Pin pin, 2026
How can I help you?
Whether you’re an artist, art lover, art-curious, or art-sceptic, I’d be delighted to assist with:
- gallery trips; greater Wellington area, transport included
- creative support; studio visits, idea development, feedback/dialogue
- studio assistance, active collaboration
- project initiation, block-bashing, brainstorming
- virtual studio buddy evenings / digital shared space for art or craft activity
CV: SARAH READ, ARTIST
Artist Yinka Shonibare said ‘You can fix the world through your art – or you can somehow make it more bearable’, and it’s this possibility of effecting transformation (however small) that motivates me. I want my work to:
- spark connections
- force encounters; cause a pause
- encourage (myself and others)
Education
- BA Visual Arts (Jewellery), Whitireia New Zealand
- HandShake international mentoring project 2011 – 2019
- BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Professional engagement
- Occupation: ARTIST collective co-founder 2013–ongoing
- TheSeeHere window gallery co-founder, 2010–2024
- Jelly Arts UK, associate artist, studio resident, 2017–2020
Click to see Selected projects
Look no hands, 2015. Two-week occupation of TheSeeHere window gallery, as recipient of a fictitious Artist Residency
Rule number 1, 2021
Are we there yet? Too many glass beads to count, strung over too many hours to countenance, 2022
On jewelleryness: TOUCH. Images under thermochromic paint, which becomes transparent when heated/rubbed
Collaboration with Liesbeth den Besten, 2017
Sweet As, 2018-2020. Jewellery exchange: make a necklace, take a photo, with Jelly Arts Reading, UK
Click to see Selected exhibitions 2016-2026
2025
- Give + Take with Occupation: ARTIST, Viewfinder, Nelson
2024
- Changing Threads, Nelson Arts Council, finalist
- Give + Take with Occupation: ARTIST, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne
- Sweet Labour, RMIT Library, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne
2023
- H x W x D, Twentysix Gallery, Wellington
- Push Play, Te Auaha, Wellington
- Changing Threads, Nelson Arts Council, finalist and Merit Award winner
- Parkin Prize finalist, NZAFA, Wellington
- Navigating Winter, International Residency, Jelly Arts, Reading
- Reflect: 10 Years of Occupation: ARTIST, Refinery ArtSpace, Nelson
- Contained:Uncontained, Refinery ArtSpace, Nelson
- Is Your Contemporary Jewellery Body Positive? Platform Arts, Geelong, Australia
- Textile Adjacent, Kingsroy Gallery, New Plymouth
- Rule Number One, TheSeeHere, Wellington
2022
- delimit, Thistle Hall, Wellington
- Textile Adjacent, Anvil House Gallery, Wellington
- Molly Morpeth Canady 3D awards, Whangārei, finalist
2021
- HandShake Group Show at Refinery ArtSpace, Nelson
- Contained/Uncontained, Melbourne
2020
- Show Us Your RONA, TempContemp, Melbourne
- Reset, Gallery Faux, Wellington
2019
- HandShake in dialogue with CODA collection, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
- Sweet As, Holybrook Gallery, Reading
2018
- Sweet As, Jelly Arts, Reading
- Te Ao Hurihuri, The Crypt Gallery, London
- To the power of 3, Turbine House, Reading
- On the Go, Te Auaha Gallery, Wellington Arts festival
- Superpositions, Stanley St, Sydney
2017
- How to Make a Necklace from a Chair, TheSeeHere, Wellington
- The Jewellers Have Landed, Tate Modern, London
- Outside Galerie Biro, Munich
- Outside Gallery Funaki, Melbourne
- Reflect, The Dowse Art Museum, Wellington
- Paved with Gold with Occupation: Artist, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne
- HandShake 3, Frame Galleries, Munich
2016
- Specials, HandShake alumni, Einsaulensaal, Munich2012
- Outside Gallery SO, London
- Outside Platina, Stockholm
- HandShake, Platina, Stockholm
- Ahi Kā – Keep the Fires Buring, Pātaka, Wellington
- Lighten up, TheSeeHere, Wellington
- Playthings, Refinery Art Space, Nelson
Click to see References
| Unfortunately, I live on the other side of the globe, but I always take notice whenever I hear or see anything by Sarah Read. She is worth her weight in gold. Her ideas and projects sparkle with vitality. She doesn’t make a lot of jewellery, but it nevertheless finds its way into her work through gold as a metaphor: gold can be found on the street, in a bookcase or on a shopping bag. For Handshake 3 (2016), we collaborated remotely for a year, exchanging emails constantly, which was a source of pleasure and a way of deepening our understanding. For the exhibition, she created a clever table onto which our ideas about touch were stuck, hidden beneath a layer of touch-activated, glossy black ink. Members of the public were invited to touch and rub the table firmly to reveal the underlying layer. Sarah is also keen to help others and forge new connections and partnerships. She is quick-witted, clever, reflective and she has a sense of humour, which could lead to some wonderful projects. Liesbeth den Besten, jewellery-writer and educator, Amsterdam 2026 |
| I have been privileged to work with Sarah for the last four years and seen a steady progression, with some unique results, like having a NY gallery dealer and instigator of impressive social art projects. In the last year Sarah’s exhibition work demonstrated unique development with impressive creative impact. It is apparent that Sarah’s practice has benefitted greatly from her participation in the HandShake project, where she is paired with the esteemed Iris Eichenberg, head of the jewellery department/artist in residence at the Cranbrook School of Art, USA. Her Handshake blog shows her unique passion, enthusiasm and generosity. Peter Deckers, Head of Jewellery, Whitireia New Zealand 2012 |
| i saw Sarah’s face and heard her voice for the first time via skype , an unfriendly medium for a good conversation. a medium not made to build trust and or be direct and feel comfortable to speak for me at least. Sarah’s honesty and carefulness , unpretentiously sharing her wonders and thoughts made me overcome this barrier. later on in our contact she spend some time in my department and the first impression was just a little glimpse of what she has to offer and give. this is a beautiful mind and a deeply invested person to whom you can trust the stories of life. she will treasure them greatly. …and you might find yourself seduced to look at the little things in a different way….. Iris Eichenberg, Artist in Residence, Metals, Cranbrook Academy of the Arts, MI, USA 2012 |
