Draft:Susan Barbour
Multidisciplinary artist and scholar focusing on the impact of scent on humans, Ted Talk speaker.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Susan Barbour is an American multidisciplinary artist, poet, Clarendon scholar, and perfumer focused on the intersections of scent, art, language, and human connection. Barbour, is best known for her research on human chemosignals, smell ecology, hair drawings, and public speaking in forums including the TEDxRoma talk I Smell Human.[1][2][3][4]
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Johns Hopkins University (MA)
University of Oxford (DPhil)Susan Barbour | |
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| Born | 1977 (age 48–49) |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MA) University of Oxford (DPhil) |
| Occupations | Artist, Perfumer, Poet, and Scholar |
| Title | Founder of AMIATA Fragrance |
| Website | http://www.susan-barbour.com |
Early life and education
Barbour was born in 1977 and grew up in Champaign, IL. [5][6] During her childhood, she had aspirations of becoming a medical doctor, however, impactful travel experiences and the study of literature led her to shift directions.[6] In 2000, Barbour received a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College.[6] In 2003, she received an M.A. in poetry from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.[7] In 2014, Barbour earned a DPhil in English Literature from the University of Oxford,[8] where she was a Clarendon Scholar,[9] and in 2017 she received the Level 4 Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.[10]
Barbour has received fellowships and residencies at institutions including the Huntington Library (2015),[11] the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University (2017),[12] the Rothermere American Institute (2014),[8] the Dora Maar House (2015),[13] the Bogliasco Foundation (2016), the Siena Art Institute (2019), the Jentel Artist Residency, and Castello di Potentino.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
Career
Scent Research
In Barbour's 2023 TEDx talk “I Smell Human,” she cited her simultaneous study of poetry and oenology as the inspiration for leading workshops focused on helping others develop olfactory awareness through language. She has argued that the sense of smell can be developed through practice and that olfactory intelligence is a vital aspect of human experience and intelligence.[1][21]
Since 2017, Barbour has also explored human chemosignals and the role of scent in social and emotional communication. [1][22][23]
In 2020, at Castello di Potentino in Tuscany, she initiated an ongoing fieldwork project documenting the olfactory ecology of the Monte Amiata region.[24] Barbour’s field research methodology includes mapped “scent walks” and olfactory field guides.[25]
In 2025, Barbour founded AMIATA, an independent fragrance and scent education brand dedicated to helping audiences deepen their connections to one another and to the environment through smell.[25]
Visual Art
Barbour is also a visual artist focused on creating figure drawings with her hair. [3][26] Since 2017, her artwork has been exhibited in galleries and art spaces in New York City, Los Angeles, and Italy. [27][28][29]
Writing
Barbour writes poetry and essays and has also published scholarship on art and literature.[30][31][32][33] Her scholarly work examines the material and sonic dimensions of art and poetry, including the visual and material forms of text and the role of audio recordings in poetic composition.[8][34][35][36] Her poetry and criticism have appeared in journals and publications including The Paris Review, Oxford Poetry, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Review of English Studies, and Textual Practice.[37][38][39]