Intersect Aspen Selections: Sarah Arison

Born and raised in Miami, Sarah Arison is President of the Arison Arts Foundation, a private grant-making organization that supports emerging artists and the institutions that foster them. She was immersed in the arts from a young age by her grandparents, visionary philanthropists Ted and Lin Arison, who founded Arison Arts Foundation, the National YoungArts Foundation, and the New World Symphony, among their many philanthropic endeavors.

Arison is active across a broad cross-section of national arts organizations. She is Chair of the Board of the National Young Arts Foundation, where she has developed strategic partnerships with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sotheby’s, Sundance Film Festival and more to provide aspiring talent with presentation and mentorship opportunities. Arison is Chair of the board of MoMA PS1; a trustee of MoMA and member of the Committee on Education; President of American Ballet Theatre; a trustee of Lincoln Center; a trustee of the Brooklyn Museum and Chair of the Education Committee; a trustee of New World Symphony; a member of the Board of Directors of Americans for the Arts; and a trustee of the Americas Foundation of the Serpentine Galleries.

Arison has also ventured into film producing, supporting projects that shed light on lesser known aspects of the arts. In 2015, she produced her first feature film, Desert Dancer, starring Freida Pinto. She later went on to co-produce The First Monday in May, a documentary film chronicling the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute blockbuster exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass. She recently co-produced The Price of Everything which was acquired by HBO at the Sundance Film Festival, and Aggie which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Arison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and French with a minor in Art History from Emory University.