Sara Diamond

Dr. Sara Diamond, Order of Canada, Order of Ontario is President Emerita, OCAD University, where she guided the institution through its transition to a university from 2005 – 2020, and now is University Research Chair. A computer scientist, historian, artist, curator and designer, Diamond holds deep interest in the relationships of human practices, diverse cultures, and technologies. She researches media arts history, cultural analytics, visualization, foresight, and urban planning. Relevant projects are the Canadian Cultural Data Catalogue https://www.culturaldata.ca/ and Crossing Fonds https://crossingfonds.com/ a collaborative digital platform for archives. She is a co-Director of the international Abundant Intelligences: Expanding Artificial Intelligence through Indigenous Knowledge Systems network. Diamond was a media artist through the 1980s and 2000s, including a retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in 1992 and a curator at VIVO https://archive.vivomediaarts.com/sara-diamond/.  Diamond founded the Banff New Media Institute, an interdisciplinary science, new media and industry laboratory and thinktank which seeded many research projects and digital companies. She curated new media exhibitions at Banff’s Walter Phillips Gallery and in international venues. She is Chair of the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education and the Toronto Arts Foundation boards. Recognition includesDoctor of Science, honoris causa, Simon Fraser University, and Humber College; Exceptional Woman of Excellence Women’s Economic Forum; Advancement of Diversity in STEM; two Digital Pioneer awards and Bell Canada Award for Video Art.