Dr. Sabrina DeTurk is an art historian based in Searsport, Maine. Dr. DeTurk’s research interests center on art as a form of social commentary and on cross-cultural currents between the art of the Middle East and the West from the Renaissance to present day. Her book Street Art in the Middle East was published by I.B. Tauris in June 2019. She is co-editor, with Sarina Wakefield and Virginie Rey, of the series “Cultural Heritage, Art and Museums in the Middle East” published by Routledge and her second monograph, Women and Contemporary Art in the Gulf, was published as part of the series in 2023.

She has previous publications in various journals, including Afterimage and Art in the Public Sphere and has presented papers at numerous international conferences. Full publication list is available here; copies of select publications are available on academia.edu.

Dr. DeTurk is currently appointed as a Lecturer in the Honors College at the University of Maine (Orono). From 2014-2021, Dr. DeTurk was on the faculty of the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University in Dubai. She served as Assistant Dean for Students at Zayed University from 2016-2018 and as Assistant Dean for Research and Outreach from 2019-2021. Prior to joining Zayed, she was Associate Dean and Executive Director of Graduate Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She previously held faculty and administrative positions at La Salle University (Philadelphia) and Salem College (Winston-Salem, NC).

Dr. DeTurk received her BA in the History of Art from Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA) and her MA and PhD in the History of Art from Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA).

In addition to her work as a researcher and teacher, Dr. DeTurk is an owner of the Yardarm Motel  and of DigitalPrintmaker, with her husband, Rick De Coyte.