About

Sara Vanderbeek is an award-winning transdisciplinary artist, curator, and advocate for sustainability and affordability in arts infrastructure, based in Austin, Texas. Her work explores themes of place, artist motherhood, mental health, and trauma, and has been exhibited at The Contemporary Austin, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles, Co-Lab Projects, and NYC Crit Club.

As Founding Executive Director and Curator of DORF, she has developed exhibitions and programs that foreground underrepresented voices and situate them within broader cultural conversations. Her curatorial approach balances critical inquiry with accessibility, and as an independent consultant, she has shaped major public art collections for institutions including the Texas Municipal Retirement System and University Health, with a focus on investing in Texas-based artists to strengthen local and regional economies. She was a founding member and board president of ICOSA Collective and is an active facilitator for professional development programs through Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Her artwork is held in numerous collections internationally, and her work has received support from the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Christie’s Auction House, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Vanderbeek holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and she began her career at Christie’s Auction House in New York where she gained professional training in art appraising, cataloguing, and sales.