Bess Murphy, Ph.D., Creative Director, Curator

Bess Murphy, Ph.D., Curator

Bess Murphy is the Creative Director, Curator at the Coe Center for the Arts where she works with leading Native artists, community members, and students to develop meaningful and creative programs and exhibitions. At the Coe, she has worked on many community and artist-driven projects including the 2018-19 exhibition IMPRINT and the project Function with artist Cannupa Hanska Luger. She also directs the Coe’s education programming, including the Hands-On Student Curator Program. Murphy received her doctorate in Art History, with a focus on Native and American 20th-century art, from the University of Southern California. She was formerly a Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center Fellow and has published in exhibition catalogs and El Palacio Magazine. She has taught Art History and Museum Studies at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and the Institute of American Indian Arts and has held positions at galleries, museums, and art centers as well as alternative artist-led art spaces.