Sarah Dowd - Tricolor Collective Founder and Podcast Host.
- Isobel Arden
- Sep 14
- 3 min read
Develop your own profile, network, career, and/or business by joining us at The Arts and Culture Network as a full member.
From just £10 per month. Cancel any time.
Benefits are here. This profile is just one of them.
Meet Sarah Dowd, strategically developing creative projects.
In this interview, Mark invited Sarah to create her own fantasy cultural year from the answers to some easy questions where there are no wrong answers. Enjoy her journey below.
Sarah Victoria Dowd isn’t just someone who talks about preserving the past — she helps it thrive. As Managing Director of Tricolor Associates and based in Cambridge in the UK, Sarah combines a historian’s curiosity, a strategist’s sharp mind, and a touch of audacity, specialising in heritage, science and arts projects that don’t just collect dust but make real impact.
With a BA in History from McGill University, followed by an MA in International Media & Communications at Goldsmiths and a CIM qualification in Arts Marketing, Sarah has spent over twenty years crossing continents and sectors to help heritage sites tell better stories.
She’s a registered consultant and monitor for both the Wellcome Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, meaning she knows what funders look for — and how to deliver it.
From regenerating museums and cathedrals to shaping visitor experiences, she’s built a reputation for turning ambitious ideas into well-managed, audience-loving realities.
Her favourite day? When a client walks out of a funder meeting with that look of “we did it.”
She believes in Universal Design—not as a buzzword, but as a tool to make heritage accessible to all.
Sarah leads Tricolor with passion, precision, and plenty of laughter. Whether she’s sketching out a business plan, organising an interpretation exhibit, or mentoring others in project resilience, her focus is always on making people and places flourish. If heritage had an inspiring melodramatic lead, it might just be Sarah Victoria Dowd.
Sarah's Fantasy Cultural Year ... with a magic wand and time machine at hand.
Watch our interview above ... here's a summary:
🚀 Global Culture Project
A fictitious Canadian foundation invited Sarah to travel the world for a year
Mission: create a league table of how societies blend history, heritage, arts, and culture.
The Perks? A book deal, TED Talk, global lecture tour, TV crew following the journey
Wants to start in Los Angeles, spotlighting cultures at risk
🎶 Music, Dance & LA Vibes
Big fan of reggae and rocksteady (still regrets missing Bob Marley live)
Loves 1940s dance styles – especially the sailor dance from Hail, Caesar!
Fantasy: LA night out → dance performance with Earl Hines + dinner at a local Mexican spot
Noted LA’s cultural importance amidst shifting US politics
👩🎨 Women, Art & Global Futures
Dreams of projects amplifying women’s voices in Afghanistan
Imagined future scenarios:
Kabul hosting women’s synchronised swimming world championships
Mumbai VR gallery → fully immersive art experiences
🎨 Chagall & London Plans
Both admire Marc Chagall; Sarah owns one of his lithographs
Planned a week of London culture: historic music, theatre, West End shows, opera, and film
🎬 Cultural Weekend Agenda
Angels in America (play)
Fiddler on the Roof (West End musical)
Ariadne auf Naxos (Royal Opera House)
Plus a cinema trip to see Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk at IMAX – with hopes of inviting Nolan himself to chat about it.
Explore more about Sarah Dowd here:
Would you like to be profiled and promoted this way?
This is just one of several benefits of full membership from just £10 per month (€12/$12) and you may cancel any time.
Join us here.
Mark Walmsley FRSA FCIM AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
Join us as a full member for "done for you" profile, network, career, and/or business development support for just £10 per month. Cancel any time.
Here are some of our full member testimonials:
"Had to write and say a huge thank you for the networking sessions you are running. Met some great people today, thank you so much."
"Great speed networking session today - I really enjoyed it and got some really relevant and valuable connections!"
"I've just joined!! £10 a month for a 1:1 business growth session, free networking, and access to all the events (on top of everything else!)?! This is INSANE value for money Mark and I'm so grateful for everything you've done to build such a supportive network of likeminded creative professionals."
Mark Walmsley FRSA AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
Comments