Since 1980, she has been an art critic for the art magazine Paletten (1981-84), and at the Nordic Arts Centre, Helsinki, where she started the Nordic art magazine Siksi in 1986, at Hufvudstadsbladet and Svenska Dagbladet until 1992, when she was appointed director of Galleri F 15 – Senter for internasjonal samtidskunst in Norway. Between 1995 and 2007, Sandqvist was the head of the Malmö Art Academy. Since 2006, she is the chairperson of KUNO, an umbrella organisation for Nordic art colleges.