Keith Burt Sarah Holland-Batt – poet

Sarah Holland-Batt is an award-winning poet, editor, critic and academic. An associate professor at Queensland University of Technology, she has contributed to The New Yorker and written a poetry column for The Weekend Australian. She is also a passionate advocate for aged-care reform.

‘I have been aware of Sarah’s work in a few different areas for quite a while, so when our paths crossed in Brisbane, I knew I had to ask her to pose for me,’ says Keith Burt.

‘Sarah is striking and vivacious in person, so it took some time and a vast array of entertaining conversation topics to begin to find the quiet, still parts of her to capture in paint. I hope to convey her strength and conviction in the composition, whilst finding a simple lyricism in the arrangement of brushstrokes.’

Born in Sydney in 1969, Burt was raised in Melbourne and lives in Brisbane. This is his third time as a finalist in the Archibald Prize.