Core Faculty - Lauren ONeal

Lauren O’Neal

Associate Professor of the Practice, Arts & Cultural Management

An accomplished interdisciplinary artist and curator, Associate Professor of the Practice Lauren O’Neal has taught in the BU MET Arts & Cultural Management program since 2011. She is also a research affiliate at the University of the Arts Helsinki Research Institute. Previously, she served as the director and curator of the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy, where she centered curatorial and educational efforts on dynamic interdisciplinary initiatives that engaged campus and regional audiences through collaborative and inclusive programs. Dr. O’Neal also launched the undergraduate arts management program at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Additionally, she has taught at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Wheelock College, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

O’Neal has curated exhibits for the Federal Reserve Bank, the Somerville Museum, and the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center Gallery at Brown University, among others, and has developed cultural programs for organizations such as the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and the Somerville Arts Council. She has presented at conferences including the College Art Association Annual Conference, the European Artistic Network Conference, and the Nordic Forum for Dance Research. O’Neal has also written for Art New England. Currently, she serves as an editorial board member of the international Journal for Artistic Research.

As a nonprofit administrator, O’Neal has worked in the areas of management, fundraising, curation, education, board and staff development, marketing, and program development for organizations including the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, the former Computer Museum, and the Arlington Center for the Arts. O’Neal also serves on the board of the Brickbottom Artists Association.

O’Neal’s artwork has been exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art, the Theater Academy of Finland, and Purdue University. She has been the recipient of grants and residencies from The Nelimarkka Museum and the Vermont Studio Center. As a performer, she has performed in the work of Trisha Brown and Heidi Latsky at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Boston) and Harvard University. She is a member of Fenway Studios and the MUU Artists Association.

O’Neal was a 2020–2022 visiting fellow at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She received her doctorate from the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2023.

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