Sarah E.K. Smith is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations. Her research focuses on cultural diplomacy, examining visual art and museums as key sites for the negotiation of global relationships. Past projects have addressed free trade and culture, resulting in the monograph Trading on Art: Cultural Diplomacy and Free Trade in North America, and museum diplomacy, leading to the edited collection Museum Diplomacy: How Cultural Institutions Shape Global Engagement. Sarah co-founded the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI) and is a member of the International Cultural Relations Research Alliance.

Sarah has taught at Carleton University, OCAD University, Queen’s University, and the University of Southern California—where she held the 2015 Canada-US Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy. She maintains an active curatorial practice and previously worked as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Sarah is currently contributing to Western University's Centre for Sustainable Curating and is a member of the Academics & Research Team for the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora.