Sarah Perks is an international curator and producer of contemporary visual art, independent film, and engagement. She served as the Artistic Director for Visual Arts and Film at HOME,[1] the centre for international contemporary arts, theatre, and film formed by the merger of Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company.
Since 2022, she has collaborated with artist Paul Alexander Stewart under the banner Forms of Circulation on film and collaborative projects with IMT Gallery,[2] London, The National Horizon Centre, Brent Biennial 2024, and Natural England.[3] Their latest film has received acclaim and multiple selections for film festivals globally, including the Busan Experimental Film Festival, where it won Best Short Documentary in 2024, as well as at the London Film Festival 2024.[4]
She is currently a Professor of Curating at Teesside University.[5]
In January 2014, Perks curated Jamie Shovlin: Hiker Meat,[6] a solo exhibition that featured the new commission Rough Cut, an installation and feature-length film produced in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival and entered into competition at the 43rd Rotterdam International Film Festival.
In 2011, Perks founded Cornerhouse Artist Film, a UK-based distributor specializing in artist feature films. The company's first release was Self Made, the directorial debut of Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing, which was distributed theatrically in the UK and Ireland.
Perks is a lecturer, presenter, and published author on contemporary culture, covering topics ranging from creative industries to postcolonialism. She has lectured at institutions such as Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester and taught for several years at City College Manchester.
Throughout her career, Perks has collaborated with notable artists including Phil Collins, Jeremy Deller, Rosa Barba, Gillian Wearing, and David Shrigley. Her curatorial projects include the group exhibition Anguish and Enthusiasm: What do you do with your revolution once you've got it?? and the performance and video work of Los Angeles-based artist Stanya Kahn: It’s Cool I’m Good.
Perks also co-edited a special edition of Film International focusing on film noir, which featured contributions from various artists, filmmakers, and writers. She is currently[clarification needed] working on a book about artist feature films. In 2009, she was a finalist for the British Council Creative Entrepreneur Award for Visual Arts.[7]