Dr Oonagh Murphy

Dr. Oonagh Murphy is redefining how cultural organisations navigate the digital age. She works closely with museums, galleries, government bodies, and funders to shape digital strategies and policies that make a difference.

As a Senior Lecturer in Digital Culture and Society at Goldsmiths, University of London, she teaches students in the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, inspiring them to think creatively about the intersection of technology and the arts. Her dual roles as a Research Fellow at Arts Council England and a Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute underscore her deep commitment to advancing the digital landscape within the cultural sector.

In 2019, Dr. Murphy’s collaboration with The National Gallery and The Metropolitan Museum of Art led to the creation of The Museums + AI Network. This project carved out a new discipline where artificial intelligence and museology meet. Her experience stretches back to the early 2010s, during which she’s become a trusted advisor and influential voice in conversations about tech policy, data rights, and the role of public institutions in our digital world. Oonagh was awarded a PhD for her work on the scalability of digital transformation by Ulster University in 2014.

An advocate for ethical data use, Dr. Murphy is an accredited Data Ethics Facilitator with the Open Data Institute. She also advises the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, contributing to policies that shape the arts, heritage, and tourism sectors. She is a widely published author whose writings have appeared in The Guardian, Arts Professional, The Irish Times, and many academic journals and books, her work has been published in five languages. You’ll often find her speaking at key events and leading discussions that push the boundaries of current thinking.

She has been visiting lecturer and visiting fellow at a wide range of academic institutions internationally including Queen’s University Belfast, Keble College Oxford, Jesus College Oxford, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Loughborough University, Munich University of Music and Theatre, University College London, Birkbeck, Pratt Institute. And has served as External Examiner at Manchester School of Art, De Montfort University, Cardiff University.

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If you have an opportunity you’d like to discuss you can get in touch with me via: hello@oonaghmurphy.com