The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa has appointed Sara O’Keeffe as its new associate curator of modern and contemporary art. She comes to the institution from the New Museum in New York, where she served as associate curator since December 2013. Prior to that, she worked in the Curatorial Department at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York from 2011 to 2013.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sara to Philbrook,” said museum director Scott Stulen. “She brings extensive experience in a wide variety of contemporary practices, willingness to experiment and passion for art and artists. Sara’s collaborative spirit is an ideal fit for Philbrook as we build a more inclusive and relevant experience with an increased focus on Contemporary Art.”

During her time at the New Museum, O’Keeffe oversaw the museum’s residency program with Johanna Burton and was part of the curatorial teams that organized “Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon” (2017), a group exhibition that investigated gender’s place in contemporary art and culture, and “New Museum Triennial: Surround Audience” (2015), a survey of early-career artists that explored the effects of an increasingly connected world marked by corporate and governmental surveillance. She also curated and cocurated projects with artists such as A.K. Burns, Jeffrey Gibson, House of Ladosha, Carolyn Lazard, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, and Sarah Zapata.

O’Keeffe’s first exhibition at Philbrook will explore questions of identity and representation in the United States and will open in the fall of 2020. The show will feature works from the collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody by emerging and established artists, including Diedrick Brackens, Mark Bradford, Anthea Hamilton, David Hammons, Howardena Pindell, Tschabalala Self, Pope.L, Faith Ringgold, Kara Walker, and Kehinde Wiley.