Sara Bouchard is a multidisciplinary artist and composer who uses sound, installation, works on paper, performance and creative coding to interweave song, history and the landscape. She is currently based in Richmond, VA, where she teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts.
Sara recently discussed her work in the With Good Reason episode “Music That Speaks.” Listen to the radio interview.
Born in Stockton, CA, Sara received her BA in painting from Yale University in 2003. She was subsequently based in Brooklyn, NY, for 13 years where she embedded herself in her local community through socially engaged art practices and American roots music. In 2017 she relocated to Richmond, VA, to study with sound artist Stephen Vitiello, receiving her MFA in Kinetic Imaging and Sound from VCUarts in 2019. In 2023 she received the Excellence in Adjunct Research Award from VCUarts and The Anderson.
Sara is currently collaborating with VCU Professor of Biology Chris Gough, Ph.D., as part of a yearlong artist residency with FLUXNET, a global network of scientists who measure the exchange of greenhouse gases between the atmosphere and the landscape. The culminating exhibition will be presented Fall 2025 at the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx) in Corvallis, Oregon.
Sara has exhibited internationally, including at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (CT), The Center for Book Arts (NYC) and at ERES Foundation (Munich, Germany). She has performed extensively, including at The International Conference for Live Coding (Utrecht, Netherlands), The American Folk Art Museum (NYC) and numerous festivals. Her work is in a growing number of public collections, including the Princeton University Library (NJ) and the University of Richmond Library (VA).