Sarah McGaughran

Sarah McGaughran (b. 1994, Timaru) is an award-winning Ōtepoti artist, curator, and writer who works across sculpture, painting, sound, and writing to explore the various ways that surface serves as an experiential interface between interiority and exteriority.

Sarah is the 2026 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Ihupukutaka Kairauhī Curatorial Intern. They are the founder and director of Slant Art Project Space, an Ōtepoti artist-run initiative they established in July of 2024. In 2025, they were awarded the William Akel Runner-up Award at the 2025 Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards for their collaborative work Intertrigo with Julia Holden. Sarah has been a practising sound artist since 2016, performing with both local and international artists. Their work has been featured in Art New Zealand and they frequently contribute written responses to the Ōtepoti arts community. 

They hold a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Otago, a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) with First Class Honours from Te Kura Matatini ki Otago the Dunedin School of Art, and a Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Contact: sarah.km@hotmail.com