A cyanotype print made from a photograph I took on the Arctic Circle Residency in Svalbard, October 2022

Sarah Barnard is a professional polar artist with a background in ocean exploration and marine biology, and has worked as a full time artist since 2015. She works in pencil, watercolours, acrylics, airbrush, inks and pastels, makes cyanotypes and dabbles in sculpture.

Sarah's art education has been varied, and she has prioritised gaining practical experience in the polar expedition sector to add a solid base of interest and knowledge of the subject behind the artwork she creates.
Sarah has had a passion for polar exploration and history for many years, having attended school just around the corner from the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. In March 2022 she took part in polar expedition training in Finse, Norway, and during October 2022 was an artist in residence on the Arctic Circle Expedition Residency aboard the tallship Antigua in Svalbard. Sarah was also invited to attend the Shackleton Autumn School in Kildare as their first ever artist in residence in 2023.

Sarah studied Fine Art in Cambridge, Marine Biology in Newquay, and Ocean Exploration in Plymouth. She has worked with The Explorer's Club, Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZ), Shackleton Museum in Athy, Mawson's Huts Foundation, and has exhibited at the polar museum at Discovery Point in Dundee.

In January 2024 Sarah founded the Polar Artists Collective, which is currently a 50+ strong community of artists sharing and exhibiting work through online exhibitions and social media. Through this initiative she hopes to showcase work by artists from all over the world, including indigenous artists from the Arctic.