College Up Close: Sarah Frisbie, art and art history
Senior Sarah Frisbie’s time at Carolina has allowed her to pursue her love of creating art while preparing for a career as a curator.
Frisbie, a studio art major through the BFA degree, has studied many art forms, but names oil painting as her “ultimate favorite” form of expression.
“My work has been kind of autobiographical recently, exploring and sitting with my own experiences as a woman,” she said, adding that she’s exploring emotions like emptiness, betrayal and isolation. “I’ve been thinking about expressing them through architectural spaces, bodily forms and color.”
In her major, her favorite class was Narrative Painting, taught by Lien Truong.
“It really pushed me and opened my eyes to what my paintings could be,” said Frisbie. “It’s one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken.”
Her BFA degree has a concentration in art history, which she lovingly views as a “choose your own adventure.”
“I view art history as the center of my studies. It’s taught me how to seek forgotten perspectives, how to write, how to look and how to see.”
A true advocate for the arts at Carolina, Frisbie reestablished UNC’s Studio Art Majors’ Association after the pandemic, which has transitioned to new leadership under her mentorship. She also gives a shout-out to Arts Everywhere for making the arts accessible to all.
“I would really encourage all students to dig deeper and find out about events that art majors are putting on,” added Frisbie, who has a second major in global studies and a minor in entrepreneurship.
Frisbie thanks her mentors Eduardo Douglas, director of undergraduate studies and advisor for art history, and Amanda Maples, curator of global African arts at the North Carolina Museum of Art, for supporting her throughout her time at Carolina. She also sends her love to the women’s club water polo team, “the most supportive and tight-knit group” of Tar Heels she knows.
By Jess Abel ’19
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