Sarah Small (born 1979 in Washington D.C.) is a Brooklyn-based American artist, composer, singer, filmmaker, photographer, and performer featured on Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble's GRAMMY-Winning album, Sing Me Home. She is known for her photographic and Tableau Vivant performance series The Delirium Constructions, singing as part of the Balkan vocal trio Black Sea Hotel, acting as the protagonist in the feature film Butter on the Latch by Josephine Decker, and directing the musical album, new music opera performance, and feature film Secondary Dominance.
She attended high school at The Field School, in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in photography.
After graduating from college, Small moved to Brooklyn and worked as a photographer for 13 years. Her work has appeared in publications including Vogue, Life Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, has been showcased by John Schaefer on WNYCâÂÂs Soundcheck and National Public Radio, and exhibited globally at venues including Galerie Caprice Horn (Berlin), Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington DC), and the Australian Centre for Photography. She was named one of the âÂÂTop 13 Emerging Photographersâ working today, by American Photo Magazine.
In 2002, Small began studying Bulgarian vocal production in a start-up Bulgarian women's choir, Yasna Voices. In 2006, Yasna Voices traveled on grant toàBulgaria to study with master singer Kremena Stancheva, a founding member of the Bulgarian womenâÂÂs choir,àLe Mystère des Voix Bulgares.
In 2007, Small co-formed Brooklyn's Balkan vocal ensemble, Black Sea Hotel. She has premiered original works with Kronos Quartet in collaboration with Black Sea Hotel at St. Ann's Warehouse.àand National Sawdust, and on stage with Reggie Watts and Sxip Shirey and JoeâÂÂs Pub. The vocal trioàwas featured in Small's Tableau Vivant of The Delirium Constructions in 2011 and headlined the Lund Choral Festival in Scandinavia in 2018. Black Sea Hotel has taught Balkan folk singing àinternationally, with a specialization in songs from Shopluk, Bulgaria. Highlights include teaching residences at Sjöviks Folkhögskola in Sweden.ÃÂ
In 2009, she taught Portrait Photography to seniors at the Parsons School of Design, and has taught darkroom photography to children and adults. In 2011, her 120-participant Tableau Vivant performance was featured in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
In 2012, Small formed Hydra, another vocal trio, and performed with Sean Ono Lennon and Taxiplasm at The Box.
In 2014, Small starred in Butter on the Latch, a psychological thriller film directed by Josephine Decker, which was on The New Yorker's âÂÂ10 Best Movies of 2014.âÂÂ
In 2016, Small was invited by Beth Morrison and HERE Arts CenterâÂÂs PROTOTYPE Festival to premiere her work âÂÂSecondary Dominanceâ on stage, which has since been made into several music videos and a feature film.
As a photographer and performance artist, Small has exhibited and lectured internationally for The Lucie Foundation,, Apple Store Soho, and at the China International Photographic Exhibition granted by the Ministry of Culture of China.