Dr. Sarah Richardson

Biography

Sarah Aoife Richardson is a historian specializing in the arts and religions of South Asia, particularly Buddhist visual material culture, with a focus on Himalayan painting. She earned her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2016 and currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where she is involved in the teaching stream. Sarah works with the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto as the Director of Partnerships and Engagement, contributing to the development of research and teaching support in Buddhist studies. She is passionate about helping students engage with the arts in meaningful ways within diverse cultural contexts. Notably, in 2020, Sarah was awarded the UTM Teaching Excellence Award for her exceptional contributions as a sessional instructor. She is currently writing a book-length study on Visual Words in Tibetan Architecture, focusing on the cultural significance of inscribed murals from the fourteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery called Shalu. Additionally, Sarah has extensively researched the Royal Ontario Museum's unpublished Tibetan painting collection, which informs her upcoming exhibition centered on Buddhist religious art.

Research Interests

Experience