Barry O’Keefe

Barry O’Keefe is an Adjunct Instructor in the Communication Arts department at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts. His artistic practice spans printmaking, painting, and public art, focusing on themes of cultural amnesia, neglected urban spaces, and contemporary landscape design. He has created large-scale public installations, including a mobile mural in a repurposed boxcar for a national music festival (2016) and functional sculptures for Richmond’s parks in collaboration with the Public Arts Commission (2017). A notable achievement includes a shadow puppet theater that won the InLight festival’s People’s Choice Award in 2019.

His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in collections such as the Valentine Museum and the Library of Virginia. O’Keefe’s projects often emphasize community engagement and the transformation of underutilized spaces into dynamic public art environments.