Michaela O’Brien, M.F.A.
Instructor in Art, Art History & Visual Studies

Michaela O’Brien is an instructor in the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies at Duke for 2017-18 and is a Teaching for Equity Fellow in the Duke Human Rights Center in the Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University. She will teach courses in digital photography and the photobook for the department during the academic year.


Michaela O’Brien, Playland, from the Draw Deuces series.

O’Brien is a documentary artist, photographer, and filmmaker currently based in Durham, NC. She holds an M.F.A. in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University and a B.A. in Sociology and International Studies from Boston College. Her work includes independent documentaries for broadcast, award-winning audiovisual installations, client-based archival research, and interactive videos for a variety of acclaimed museums. Her photographic and moving images works have been featured in galleries and film festivals worldwide. She is currently working on an experimental documentary about scratch tickets and producing multiple photobooks.