Sharon Killian was born in Jamaica, WI and raised in Harlem, New York. She lives at the intersection of race, art, and the American social construct. In 2005 she relocated to Fayetteville, Arkansas with her family from the metro Washington, DC area where she was an arts educator and practicing artist.
Sharon founded the non-profit arts organization Art Ventures NWA in 2016 to also engage artists of micro- communities and minoritized groups who historically are denied access to arts ecosystems. The underpinning philosophy is that quality of life is enhanced through exposure to art and minoritized communities also deserve this experience.
Sharon taught in Art Education at the UA School of Art during academic years 2014 – 2016 while continuing the development of Art Ventures and the socio-cultural nonprofit, NWA Black Heritage, which she co-founded in 2008. Sharon Killian’s works are in the Tyson Corporate collection (AR), the U of Arkansas Chancellor’s collection (Fayetteville, AR), NWA Community College, and numerous private holdings locally and across the US.