Sara O’Keeffe is the DAJ Director and Curator of Public Engagement and Research.  

O’Keeffe brings more than 15 years of experience organizing experimental, artist-driven exhibitions and public engagement programs for art museums and institutions, including Art Omi, where she served as Senior Curator; the Philbrook Museum of Art; and the New Museum. At ICA, O’Keeffe will serve as a member of the senior leadership team, helping shape the museum’s institutional direction while spearheading research initiatives, including public programs, performances, symposia, artist-led projects, and publications to extend, expand, and conceive of ICA’s exhibitions and commissioned projects. She will also strengthen ICA’s pedagogical partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania and deepen its relationships with local and international artists, academics, and community members.  

As Senior Curator at Art Omi, O’Keeffe spearheaded the curatorial strategy for the arts organization and curated exhibitions and related public programs dedicated to a broad range of contemporary artists, including Nayland Blake, Pippa Garner, Raven Halfmoon, Eddie Rodolgo Aparicio, Kinlaw, Tschabalala Self, and Harold Stevenson, among many others. Prior to joining Art Omi, O’Keeffe served as the Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa from 2020 through 2022, where she curated museum wide exhibitions and organized public engagement programs, workshops, talks, and performances. She previously held curatorial positions at the New Museum, where she managed its artist residency program alongside Burton, served on the curatorial team for Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon and the 2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, and worked closely with the patron groups to advance support for the museum’s research and residencies initiatives. Prior to the New Museum, she served as a curatorial assistant at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.