Sarah Drake, MS, is an award-winning collagist, author-illustrator, and teaching artist in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. She has exhibited her artwork internationally in New York, Moscow, London, Tokyo, Ouagadougou, and Ulaanbaatar. Her artworks have earned her multiple awards, including the VSA Minnesota/Jerome Foundation 2017 Emerging Artist with Disability award and CMAB/McKnight Foundation 2015 Emerging Artist award, and a piece exhibits in the permanent collection at the Marina Tsvetaeva Museum and Cultural Center in Moscow. Sarah has a Master of Science degree in Social Responsibility from St Cloud State University and is the founder/CEO of herARTS in Action. Her work on human rights and social justice topics over the past two decades inspire her artistic creations, as well as creating art that shows Black people in a positive light so her biracial daughter can see herself represented in the world around her.
Nanou's Promise: A Journey Beyond Hauling Water
Nanou wants to paint, just as Grandma Kaye does, with a painting feather. But Grandma says Nanou must go to school before learning to paint. “How can I go to school when I spend so much time hauling water?” Nanou wonders. See how she plots a way to get clean water close to home so that she has time to attend school and learn to paint with a feather just like Grandma.
This author-paper collage illustrated 32 page color children’s picture book is inspired by herARTS in Action's work in Burkina Faso for access to clean water, sanitation, and education in the village of Tiebele.
About the book:
"One might not think a story about water can touch the heart, but Sarah Drake’s inspiring African-set story certainly does. It’s both touching and beautiful."
~Wil Haygood, author of The Butler
"Nanou has a dream, to go to school and to become an artist. This dream plays out every day in countries like Burkina Faso and artist Sarah Drake, through this wonderfully educational and beautifully illustrated book that you’re holding in your hands, is changing the world for good with her art. You can too simply by purchasing this charming little story for your loved one. The more we know about each other, the more we care about each other. And once you get to know Nanou, you’ll be changed for the better too!"
~Kristoffer Polaha, actor Wonder Woman 1984, Jurassic World 3, a Hallmark favorite, herARTS in Action Ambassador & Advocate
Nanou's Promise: A Journey Beyond Hauling Water
Nanou wants to paint, just as Grandma Kaye does, with a painting feather. But Grandma says Nanou must go to school before learning to paint. “How can I go to school when I spend so much time hauling water?” Nanou wonders. See how she plots a way to get clean water close to home so that she has time to attend school and learn to paint with a feather just like Grandma.
This author-paper collage illustrated 32 page color children’s picture book is inspired by herARTS in Action's work in Burkina Faso for access to clean water, sanitation, and education in the village of Tiebele.
Since water and education are the story’s inspiration, 25 percent of profits from the sale of this book are donated to herARTS in Action for programming in Burkina Faso.
"One might not think a story about water can touch the heart, but Sarah Drake’s inspiring African-set story certainly does. It’s both touching and beautiful."
~Wil Haygood, author of The Butler
"Nanou has a dream, to go to school and to become an artist. This dream plays out every day in countries like Burkina Faso and artist Sarah Drake, through this wonderfully educational and beautifully illustrated book that you’re holding in your hands, is changing the world for good with her art. You can too simply by purchasing this charming little story for your loved one. The more we know about each other, the more we care about each other. And once you get to know Nanou, you’ll be changed for the better too!"
~Kristoffer Polaha, actor Wonder Woman 1984, Jurassic World 3, a Hallmark favorite, herARTS in Action Ambassador & Advocate
"Sarah Drake shows us that we can make the world a better place for all of us when we seek solutions to some of our problems through the eyes of a child. Nanou’s innocence got herself and the village where they needed to be."
~Eddah Mutua, PhD. Professor of Intercultural Communication, St. Cloud State University, MN
"Access to water and education are very important to the development of the girl child in Africa; thus, they are two of the 17 SDG goals of the United Nations. That speaks volumes about the work that Sarah is doing in Tiebele. Sarah’s goal is to bring awareness to the plight of the girl child in Africa, highlighting how access to education and water will help children like Nanou get an education so they can reach their God-given potential in life. Books For Africa comes alongside individuals like Sarah to provide books to support girls' education. I hope as you read Nanou’s Promise that you will be inspired by Nanou’s determination to go to school as well as her indomitable spirit."
~ Rosemond Sarpong Owens, former President & current Ambassador of Books for Africa
Sarah Drake is a teaching artist with almost 10 years of experience. She works with all ages & abilities, from kids, youth, college, adult to seniors in schools, nursing homes, and the community. Mediums taught are paper collage, mixed media, and acrylic paint. Residencies usually address social topics by making art. Topics include art for social change, water, human rights, immigration, discrimination, identity, and the African continent.
Although I've been a painter & mixed media artist for many years, because of health issues, I took up paper collage in November 2016. When I started this series in 2017, I was still learning this new technique and what it meant to me as a creator, but I already knew I preferred ripping paper to cutting. At first, I ripped because it was easier on my pained body, but then it became cathartic. I found that the rips began to have representation; I was tearing away at the layers of the issues I talk about in my artwork like racism, water and sanitation access, and women's rights. Once torn, the paper became like puzzle pieces of rebuilding and restructuring into an aesthetic that imagines what could be if these issues didn't exist. However, even when we dismantle the many facets of institutional racism and socio-economic exploitation, things aren't smooth and pretty. There are still scars of the past, which the rugged look of ripped paper in my artwork represents.
After an invitation to exhibit artwork December 2017-February 2018, I began to wonder what I'd create. Kwanzaa, MLK Jr Day, and Black History Month occurred during the exhibition, coupled with the new realization about my paper ripping, which inspired a body of artwork about African and African American women. The goal was to show Black women from our community in artwork, positively without stereotypes, and the impact they make not only in my life and the lives of others. I also wanted Black women to see themselves in, and own, artwork. I then expanded the series to tell stories of overlooked, unseen, misunderstood, misrepresented, Black women. The series grew to included not only women from central MN, but Burkina Faso and celebrity Black women who work for social justice and then men as well.
This body of work is a learning opportunity for the viewer to see people in our community through my eyes, perspectives, and lived experiences. I hope viewers leave inspired to take action against discrimination after learning something about our diverse and beautiful community, and remember the amazing contributions Black people give to our lives every day, not just during Black History Month or on MLK Day.
Prices are in the artist's statement when art is on display, not individually priced because it was a reminder of enslaved Africans sold at auction, and I couldn't put prices next to people's names. It is also why all pieces are at the same price. The artwork is installed with generous space between them because a tight arrangement is a reminder of how people were enslaved and then involuntarily packed into slave ships.
Want to purchase artwork? OR Schedule a class? OR Schedule a guest speaker?
Our system is under construction, so please email us at herartsinaction@gmail.com. Thank you for your patience.
Sarah's rostered teaching artist training was with the Central Minnesota Arts Board. This activity is made possible through a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board, thanks to funds provided by the McKnight Foundation.
Sarah was awarded the CMAB/McKnight Foundation 2015 Emerging Artist award. This award is made possible through a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board, thanks to funds provided by The McKnight Foundation.
