Life after Radford with Sarah Webber (Class of 2003)

Sarah currently resides in Sydney with her husband Andrew and soon to arrive daughter. Since graduating Sarah has lived in many different cities and countries, including London where Sarah completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Master of Design which led her to live in Spain for two years.

Upon Sarah’s return to Australia, she worked as a Fashion Stylist and Events Coordinator before resuming her studies again to complete a Master of Art Therapy.

For the last three years, Sarah has worked as a Registered Art Therapist for a wonderful organisation called KidsXpress. KidsXpress offers expressive therapy to children with traumatic backgrounds. Expressive therapy uses forms of creative expression such as art, music, and dance to help people explore and transform difficult emotional and medical conditions. Sarah works with a team that offer expressive therapy programs in several different schools across Sydney and Western Sydney.

When not working, Sarah enjoys hiking and kickboxing, but Art has always been one of her greatest passions. Sarah shared that every few years she takes three months off from work to complete an artist residency somewhere in the world. Sarah and Andrew did a joint residency in Akureyri, Iceland in 2019 where they explored the interplay between their disciplines and immersed themselves within the city of Akureyri. Using mixed media materials, Sarah and Andrew aimed to create an exhibition inspired by Akureyri, which offers a unique experience for the viewer. The work pictured is from this exhibition.

Sarah’s favourite Radford Moment

Sarah shared that her first day of school was her favourite, she was the new student commencing in Year 11 and remembers being utterly overwhelmed and surprised by how friendly and kind everyone was. “The entire year made me feel completely welcome, several of those people I met on my first day are still my best friends today. It has been great witnessing each other grow up, follow different dreams and live in different places”. Sarah said.

Inspirational Figure

Growing up Sarah was always at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). “I was in complete awe of many great contemporary artists. I was especially fascinated by the enormous sculptural installation of glass works of Dale Chihuly. After seeing him, I attended his exhibition at the NGA. I decided I wanted to be a glassblower. This led to my first degree – a Bachelor of Visual Arts (majoring in Glass). 

Favourite Quote

Sarah shared a quote by author, Patti Smith which Sarah says, she completely adores:

‘I wish for the same thing I have hoped for since the beginning. I wish for a life so brave, so unpredictable, so full of unexpected joys and unforgettable love that no box could possibly contain all my memories. Such a life won’t be perfect. It’ll be something better… It’ll be my own paradise.’

Advice to Current Students

Sarah shared, “I would encourage current students to ‘Be Brave, Be Bold and Back Yourself’. There are so many wonderful opportunities in the world that will come your way and sometimes it can be difficult to recognise them. Sometimes you may feel like you have failed, however there is always an incredible lesson that comes out of those moments and somehow it always ends up contributing to your life in an unexpected and sometimes magical way”.