TULSA, OKLA.- Roja Najafi has been named curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Najafi comes to Oklahoma City from Texas, where she taught modern and contemporary art at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin Community College, and Rice University, among other institutions and was a curator at the Strake Jesuit Art Museum.

"Roja's strong background in modern and contemporary art and impressive academic accomplishments make her a perfect fit for our team," said Michael J. Anderson, Ph.D., director of curatorial affairs. "Roja will be curating our spring exhibition, 'The New Art: A Controversial Collection 50 Years Later,' and I am looking forward to seeing what new scholarship she develops as she researches this important OKCMOA collection. We are glad to have Roja in Oklahoma City."

As curator at the Strake Jesuit Art Museum, Najafi curated installations from the permanent collection including "Beyond the Frame," highlights from the permanent collection, and an exhibition of the works of the prominent Texan sculptor, Jesús Moroles entitled: "Jesús Moroles: Rock, Paper, Scissors," showcasing the relationship between Moroles's drawings, papier-mâché and sculptures.

Najafi earned her Ph.D. in art history from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin in 2016 under the supervision of Dr. Richard Shiff - a prominent art historian, the director of the Center for the Study of Modernism and the university's Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art. She has a master's degree in art history and criticism from Brooklyn College, CUNY, and an undergraduate degree in filmmaking from the Art University in her hometown of Tehran.

Prior to joining OKCMOA, Najafi was the 2013-2014 Vivian L. Smith Foundation Fellow at the Menil Collection in Houston. During her graduate studies at UT, Najafi curated "Voices in Green, Creative Practices in Response to the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election" at the FAB Gallery at The University of Texas at Austin, an exhibition dedicated to art and activism in times of crisis. Her related research has been published as an article titled "Creative Practices: Art and Activism after the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election" in "Third Text Asia," a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to critical perspectives on contemporary art and culture.

Najafi enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, rock climbing, squash, walking and watching tennis. Najafi lives with her cat, Zeitoon Khaan, and looks forward to learning how to row in Oklahoma City.