ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is deeply rooted in neurodivergence and my identity as an autistic parent. I often find verbal language to be inadequate and turn to imagery and metaphor to describe my lived experience. I dance between different mediums pulling from those that best express my inner landscape. My visual art practice encompasses traditional handcraft, which connects me to past generations, and emerging technologies, which tether me to the future. My writing explores neurodivergence through my lived experience as an autistic adult. Both practices serve an important social function by contributing to the growing neurodiversity movement.
BIO
Sarah Shotts (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and nonbinary mother. Shotts earned their Masters degree in Applied Drama from Goldsmiths University of London. Their undergraduate studies encompassed both Fine and Performing Arts at Mississippi University for Women (MUW.) Shotts was previously instructor of theatre at MUW where they taught for ten years. They write and create out of their backyard studio in Northwest Arkansas.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026 ILSSA Diagrams (Greenfield, MA)
curated by Emily Larned & Bridget Elmer
2025-2026 Euphoria Quilt (Philadelphia, PA)
curated by Eliot Anderberg
2025 Local Color 10th Anniversary (Fayetteville, AR)
curated by Alex Cogbill
2024 Anthropology of Motherhood: Intersections with Disability at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
curated by Fran Flaherty
2024 Access Art: A Touchable Art Exhibit for Individuals With and Without Vision Loss (Fayetteville, AR)
curated by Kim Crowell
2024 M/otherhood (Devon, UK)
curated by Izzy Perks
2024 Synaptic (Greenville, South Carolina)
curated by Nicole Shannon
2024 Mothering, Milwaukee Art Therapy Collective (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
curated by Laura Fuller-Cooper
2023 Cut, Torn & Mended, Spilt Milk Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland)
curated by Lauren McLaughlin
2023 Queer Anxiety, All St. Gallery (New York City, New York)
curated by Blair Simmons, Eden Chinn, Sarah Hallacher, and Shuang Cai
2023 Overheads, Diverse Capacities (Solent, UK)
curated by Ellen Gillett
2023 Anthropology of Motherhood Culture of Care, Three Rivers Art Festival (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
curated by Amy Bowman-McElhone
2023 Do you hear us…are you listening?, Spilt Milk Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland)
curated by Lauren McLaughlin
2023 Together/Alone, Stay Home Gallery (Paris, Tennessee)
curated by Tara Carpenter Estrada
SELECTED AWARDS
2025 Best of 3D for “The Mental Load” & “Maternal Mental Health”
Local Color 10th Anniversary (Fayetteville, AR)
PUBLICATIONS
2026 ILSSA Diagrams
curated by Emily Larned & Bridget Elmer
2024 My Roots, Motherlore Magazine (Issue 2)
curated by Genevieve Beech
2023 Asynchronous Friendship, Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture (Volume 4, Issue 2)
edited by Robert Rozema, Grand Valley State University
2023 Cut, Torn & Mended, Spilt Milk Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland)
curated by Lauren McLaughlin
ARTIST TALKS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2023 #ActuallyAutistic Artists Talking, Samford Art Gallery (Birmingham, Alabama)
2022 Sensory Processing Continuing Education for Walnut Farm Montessori (Bentonville, Arkansas)
2016 p’ARTake, Ocean Springs Art Association (Ocean Springs, Mississippi)
2012 Shakespeare & Education, Mississippi Theatre Association Festival (Columbus, Mississippi)
CURATION PROJECTS
Entwined Anthology (2025)
Ember Art Journal (2025)
Neurokind Virtual Exhibitions (2024-2025)
TEACHING & WORKSHOPS
2025 NWA Maker Faire Zine Workshop (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
2025 Neurokind Weaving Workshop (Online)
2012-2025 Theatre Instructor at Mississippi University for Women (Online – Columbus, Mississippi)
2021 Discover Your Creative Ecosystem Workshop (Online)
2009-2010 Crossroads Theatre Instructor for At Risk Youths, Columbus Arts Council (Columbus, Mississippi)
2009 Creative Dramatics, Mississippi University for Women (Columbus, Mississippi)
2007 Theatre & Fine Arts Instructor, Columbus Arts Council (Columbus, Mississippi)
2005-2006 Visual Arts & Ceramics Instructor, College for Kids, East Central Community College (Decatur, Mississippi)