We thrive not when we've done it all, but when we still have more to do.
— Sarah Lewis
About Sarah Lewis
Sarah Lewis is an acclaimed writer, curator, and scholar whose work illuminates the power of creativity, resilience, and collective imagination. Drawing from art history, cultural studies, and the stories of pioneering individuals, she explores how vision and perseverance shape our shared future. Through her research and storytelling, she invites us to reconsider failure, possibility, and the unseen forces that propel human progress, offering a profound lens on what it means to create and to belong.
Acclaimed author and scholar
Recent Awards and Recognition
Finalist, Anisfield-Wolf Book Prize, The Unseen Truth (Harvard University Press, 2024)
Honorable Mention, James Porter Book Award, The Unseen Truth (Harvard University Press, 2024)
Winner, 2022 Arthur Danto/American Society for Aesthetics Prize, American Philosophical Association awarded for “the best paper in the field of aesthetics, broadly understood.”
Founder and organizer
Sarah lewis and Vision & Justice
Lewis founded Vision & Justice, a catalytic civic initiative that generates original research and programs that reveal the foundational role of visual culture in America’s representational democracy. Through institutional collaborations, leadership convenings, publications, and public programs, Vision & Justice serves as an organizer, partner, and resource for today’s leaders—and those to come—in fostering representational excellence.
Keynote speaker
Lewis is a sought-after public speaker whose mainstage TED Talk has garnered over three million views. She has delivered keynote addresses at venues ranging from the UN General Assembly and the World Business Forum to the Urban League of Hampton Roads, as well as numerous universities and organizations across the United States and abroad.