Lauren R. O'Connell is curator of contemporary art at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and adjunct faculty at Arizona State University (ASU) in The School of Art, Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts. Her practice focuses on artist-centric projects that expand and challenge artistic medium, critical dialogue, and art historical cannons. She is currently organizing Language in Times of Miscommunication (2023), a major group exhibition and catalogue that critically examine the complexities of social reality during times of rampant miscommunication through art that incorporates various forms of language, modes of communication, and research. O'Connell has worked on new projects with artists including Tarek Atoui, Kristin Bauer, Diedrick Brackens, Mimi O Chun, Martin Soto Climent, Asher Hartman, Cliff Hengst, Otobong Nkanga, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Jean Shin, Anna Tsouhlarakis, and Qiu Zhijie.
Previously, she worked at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). While at BAMPFA, she worked with former director Lawrence Rinder to organize the inaugural exhibition Architecture of Life (2016) in the museum's Diller Scofido + Renfro building and provided curatorial support for numerous MATRIX exhibitions. O'Connell has written for exhibition catalogues including New Time: Art & Feminism in the 21st Century (2021) and Harvey Quaytman: Against the Static (2018). She is the author of the forthcoming publication Language in Times of Miscommunication: Art Critical of Social Reality (2023) and co-author of a forthcoming monograph with Radius Books on southwest abstract color field painter Dorothy Fratt (2023). She received a MA in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and a BA in Classics and Art History from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Previously, she worked at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). While at BAMPFA, she worked with former director Lawrence Rinder to organize the inaugural exhibition Architecture of Life (2016) in the museum's Diller Scofido + Renfro building and provided curatorial support for numerous MATRIX exhibitions. O'Connell has written for exhibition catalogues including New Time: Art & Feminism in the 21st Century (2021) and Harvey Quaytman: Against the Static (2018). She is the author of the forthcoming publication Language in Times of Miscommunication: Art Critical of Social Reality (2023) and co-author of a forthcoming monograph with Radius Books on southwest abstract color field painter Dorothy Fratt (2023). She received a MA in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and a BA in Classics and Art History from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
b. 1982, Chicago, IL
Lives and works in Phoenix, AZ
MA in Curatorial Practice, California College of the Arts (CCA), San Francisco
BA in Classics and Art History, Magna Cum Laude, University of Arizona, Tucson
Semester Abroad, Instituto Internazionale di Studi Classici di Orvieto, Orvieto, Italy
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale, AZ
Curator of Contemporary Art, June 2019-Present
Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe, AZ
Adjunct Faculty, August 2019–Present
University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), Berkeley, CA
Curatorial Associate, September 2014–February 2017
Curatorial Intern, Modern and Contemporary Art and MATRIX, Summer 2013
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
Curatorial Research Assistant, Architecture + Design, June 2014–September 2014
Curatorial Intern, Architecture + Design, Summer 2013
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale, AZ
Curatorial Assistant, May 2010–August 2012
Lives and works in Phoenix, AZ
MA in Curatorial Practice, California College of the Arts (CCA), San Francisco
BA in Classics and Art History, Magna Cum Laude, University of Arizona, Tucson
Semester Abroad, Instituto Internazionale di Studi Classici di Orvieto, Orvieto, Italy
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale, AZ
Curator of Contemporary Art, June 2019-Present
Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe, AZ
Adjunct Faculty, August 2019–Present
University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), Berkeley, CA
Curatorial Associate, September 2014–February 2017
Curatorial Intern, Modern and Contemporary Art and MATRIX, Summer 2013
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
Curatorial Research Assistant, Architecture + Design, June 2014–September 2014
Curatorial Intern, Architecture + Design, Summer 2013
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale, AZ
Curatorial Assistant, May 2010–August 2012
