Sarah Whyte
Graduate Assistant for the Asian American Mentor Program
About
Sarah Whyte (She/Her) is the Graduate Assistant (GA) of the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP) here at the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC). She is currently a second-year MFA candidate in Studio Arts here at UIC and holds a BFA in Studio Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Sarah is an interdisciplinary artist whose work questions her identity as a transracial, transnational, Chinese American, woman, adoptee. In her practice, Sarah looks to China to understand her story. However, she can only understand China through a Western lens - with no direct access to her motherland in location, language, history, and culture. In her artwork, she explores the complicated intersections of international adoption with global issues such as imperialism, militarism, and colonization. She also draws on more personal issues around identity, racism, and discrimination. She incorporates painting and textile techniques such as embroidery to tell her personal stories around adoption and identity and to bring the complexities of transnational adoption to the fore. Using her own story as clues to reveal histories around human rights, international relations, and race politics. Sarah has presented in venues such as the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, Weinberg Newton Gallery, and Hyde Park Art Center. Sarah is also a recipient of the Provost Graduate Research Award.