Photo by Kevin Abosch
I advocate for compassion and creativity in education, business, and daily life.
I’m Susan S. Sawyers, a multimedia artist, former reporter and New York City native. I am also a strategic planner and early-stage investor in women-led venture funds and media companies. I’m fascinated by digital storytelling and human connection in a post-truth era.
My happy place is outside, often hiking, discovering new surroundings, urban or rural, and I love to design and deliver flowers to friends and family.
I’m a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, International Center of Photography, and Grinnell College. I began my career as a legislative aide and french teacher in Washington, D.C., I taught english and wrote for a local newspaper as a Fulbright-Hayes Teaching Assistant in Paimpol, France, was an assistant vice president at Christie’s in New York and Los Angeles until I was named curator and then director of LA’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. After graduate school, I produced Bloomberg Radio’s Bloomberg EDU, Bloomberg Radio’s award-winning weekly look at education. My writing and reporting has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Huffington Post, The Hechinger Report and New York Social Diary.
I am a founding donor of The 19th News, a supporter of The New York Women’s Foundation, the Center for Curatorial Leadership and For Freedoms. I am the mother of two grown children and live near Central Park with my husband/partner and a curly-haired dog named Cali(fornia). I’ve visited 45 states and hope to visit the remaining five by 2025. I know I’m lucky.
Affiliations
> New York Women’s Foundation (member of board)
> Center for Curatorial Leadership (member of board)
> The 19th News (founding member)
> For Freedoms (supporter)
> Solidaire (member)
> Women Moving Millions (memberr)
Artist Statement
Themes of community, nature, and social justice figure prominently in my work—sometimes with a hint of frustration. I challenge stereotypical narratives about people, places, and things through my eclectic lens. I want to push the boundaries of “social” media and my role in society.
As a storyteller, photography is a natural medium for much of my work. I have always been fascinated with irreverent moments in time—moments in my own memory as well as in posterity. My technique and style is simple, candid, and unobtrusive. I’m intrigued by the intersection of art and pop culture, and intertwining analog with digital experiences. Shape and color are my guides but empathy is my core.
Toolbox
> a blank notebook, usually a moleskin
> a sharpened pencil
> a retractable pen. I lose pen caps.
> iPhone
> Macbook
> Sunglasses and Burt’s Bees grapefruit lip shimmer