An accomplished interdisciplinary artist and curator, Associate Professor of the Practice Lauren O\u2019Neal 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.\u00a0Dr. 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.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neal has curated exhibits for the Federal Reserve Bank, the Somerville Museum, and the Sarah Doyle Women\u2019s 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.\u00a0She has presented at conferences including the College Art Association Annual Conference, the European Artistic Network Conference, and the Nordic Forum for Dance Research. O\u2019Neal has also written for Art New England<\/em>. Currently, she serves as an editorial board member of the international Journal for Artistic Research<\/em>.<\/p>\n As a nonprofit administrator, O\u2019Neal 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.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neal\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neal was a 2020\u20132022 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.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Conferences & Publications (Recent)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDesigning Arts in Health Curricula within University Settings.” Bridging Visual Arts & Healthcare: Impact, Innovation, and Research, Brigham & Women\u2019s Hospital Visual Arts in Healthcare Program, Boston, Mass., 2026. <\/p>\n \u201cPutting Insights into Practice: Capstone and Experiential Learning Courses.\u201d Wicked Good Approaches: The Future of Arts Administration, the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) Conference, Boston University, Boston, Mass., 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dichotomy of Travel Courses in the Digital Age” (presented by co-author Raquel Peula). European Network on Cultural Management and Policy (ENCATC) Congress and Research Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 2025. <\/p>\n \u201cModest Interventions in Inclusive Pedagogy: Fostering Inclusive Relationships Between Students and the Curriculum.\u201d Inclusive Pedagogy Symposium, Boston University, Boston Mass., 2025. <\/p>\n \u201cA Sidestep: Inhabiting Invisible and Speculative Artistic Research.\u201d In Transgressive Tendencies: Stepping Over to Go Beyond panel, College Art Association Annual Conference, New York, N.Y., 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cInvisible Research.\u201d To Be Opaque and to Glitch, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria, 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cChoreographic Thinking as Artistic Research: Following Desire Lines in Your Practice.\u201d Viewpoints to Artistic Research, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland, 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Moves (Us) in Exhibitions? From Representations to Relationships.\u201d UMAC\u2013Universeum Joint International Conference, 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cIt Begins (Again and Again).\u201d Presented at I Experience as I Experiment\u2014I Experiment as I Experience: Experience and experimentality in artistic work and research, Academy of Fine Arts\/University of the Arts Research Days, Helsinki, Finland, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThirteen Ways of Looking at Choreographic Thinking.\u201d In I Experience as I Experiment\/I Experiment as I Experience, Research Days Catalogue, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cArranging Spaces of Relation(s): What Can Objects Do?\u201d Presented at “University Museums as Cultural Commons: Interdisciplinary Research and Education in Museums,” UMAC Tokyo Seminar, Tokyo, Japan, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cOf Accidental Origin: Discussion-Based Pedagogy Meets Student-Driven Curation.\u201d Curated poster presentation, University Museums and Collections as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition, ICOM\/UMAC General Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cPerforming in the Museum: Some Questions on Labor, Identity, and Artistic Research.\u201d Presented at Practice, Participation and Politics: Nordic Forum for Dance Research Conference, Theater Academy, Helsinki, Finland, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerative Encounters: Choreographic Thinking in Curatorial and Visual Arts Research.\u201d Presented at Per\/Forming Futures Conference: Investigating Artistic Doctorates in Dance and Performance\/ADIE, Middlesex University, London, UK, 2019.<\/p>\n Lauren O\u2019Neal and Olivia Knauss. \u201cThe mystery of a lost portrait: The Lamont Gallery and its rediscovered Diego Rivera.\u201d The Art Guide<\/em>, 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cCreative Chaos: Collaborations with Student Curatorial Teams.\u201d Presented at Independent School Art Instructors Association Conference, Trinity School, New York, N.Y., 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cCuration as Choreography: The Process of Making Exhibitions.\u201d Presented at Rye Art Study Group, Rye, N.H., 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cBad Bodies: Inscriptions of Fatigue, Instability, and Resistance.\u201d Panel chair, College Art Association Annual Conference, New York, N.Y., 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving Subjectivities.\u201d Presented at Movements, Flows, Resistance: Southern Humanities Council Conference, Louisville, Ky., 2017.<\/p>\n Exhibitions & Performances (Recent)<\/strong><\/p>\n Performer, Loop<\/em>, by Angie Benitez Dance. The Click: Moving Towards March, Cambridge Foundry, Cambridge, Mass., 2026.<\/p>\n Timelines<\/em>. White Studio, KuVA Research Days, University of the Arts Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 2025.<\/p>\n Performer, Icarus Was Right. It Was Worth It<\/em>, by Angie Benitez Dance. The Click: Moving Into March, Cambridge Foundry, Cambridge, Mass., 2025.<\/p>\n 30th Annual Juried Exhibition<\/em>. Zullo Gallery, Medfield, Mass., 2024.<\/p>\n Normal Now<\/em>. Juried exhibition, Arnheim Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston, Mass., 2024.<\/p>\n Black & White<\/em>. Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, Mass., 2024.<\/p>\n The Glow Show<\/em>. Juried exhibition, Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery, Worcester State University, Worcester, Mass., 2024.<\/p>\n Performer, On Display<\/em>, by Heidi Latsky Dance. Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Mass., 2023.<\/p>\n Carnival<\/em>. Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, Mass., 2023.<\/p>\n Performer, A Language of What May Not Be Said: Symphony of a Missing Room<\/em>, by Lundahl + Seitl, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., 2022.<\/p>\n 1,550: A Renga Cycle in Celebration of the Class of 1945 Louis Kahn Library\u2019s 50th Anniversary<\/em>. Invitational exhibition, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H., 2021.<\/p>\n Out of Place. <\/em>Juried exhibition, Fountain Street Gallery, Boston, Mass., 2020.<\/p>\n I Experience as I Experiment\u2014I Experiment as I Experience.<\/em>\u00a0Exhibition Laboratory Gallery, Helsinki, Finland, 2019.<\/p>\n Experimental Choreographies <\/em>[solo exhibition].\u00a0<\/em>Gjutars Gallery, Vantaa, Finland, 2019.<\/p>\n Situational: A Studio Research Residency.<\/em> Lauren O\u2019Neal & Kathy Desmond, The Nave Gallery, Somerville, Mass., 2019.<\/p>\n Performer, Waterway\/Lightway\/Greenway<\/em>, by Peter DiMuro\/Public Displays of Motion. Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, Mass., 2019.<\/p>\n Performer, On Display<\/em>, by Heidi Latsky Dance. Boston Architectural College, Boston, Mass., 2018.<\/p>\n Performer, MEEM 4 Boston: A Story Ballet about the Internet,<\/em> by Ryan McNamara. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Mass., 2018.<\/p>\n Some Reliable Truths About Chairs.<\/em> Juried exhibition, UMVA Gallery, Portland, Maine, 2018.<\/p>\n Proclamations!<\/em> Collaborative performance, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H., 2018.<\/p>\n Residencies & Grants (Selected)<\/strong><\/p>\n Research Affiliate, University of the Arts Helsinki Research Institute, Helsinki, Finland, 2025\u2013present. <\/p>\n Frame Contemporary Art Finland Curatorial Research Travel Grant, 2025.<\/p>\n Interdisciplinary Arts Programming Grant, Boston University Arts Initiative, Boston University, 2025.<\/p>\n Life on a Leaf Artist Residency, Turku, Finland, 2025.<\/p>\n Doctoral Research Completion Grant, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2022.<\/p>\n Doctoral Research Grant, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2021.<\/p>\n International Student Grant, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2020.<\/p>\n TTOR Doctoral Artistic Research Grant, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2020.<\/p>\n Travel Grant, University of the Arts Helsinki, 2019.<\/p>\n Gjatars Artist Residency, Vantaa, Finland, 2019.<\/p>\n Residency & Merit Grant, Vermont Studio Center, 2018.<\/p>\n Faculty Research Grants, Phillips Exeter Academy, 2015\u20132018.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"author":16254,"template":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/2943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16254"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/2943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99878,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/2943\/revisions\/99878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Research Interests<\/h2>
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Scholarly Work<\/h2>