Bernice Murphy was the first Curator of Contemporary Art at the AGNSW Sydney (1979–1983); then Curator, Chief Curator, and finally second Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (1984–1998). Awards include the Australia Council’s Visual Arts Emeritus Medal (1999), the ICOM-Australia Award for International Museum Relations (2009), Honorary Life Membership of the International Council of Museums, Paris (2016), and Life Membership of the Australian Museums and Galleries Association, Canberra (2014). She has curated international and Australian exhibitions of contemporary art; written on art, artists, and museums, including indigenous issues; and has a longstanding interest in contemporary and historical architecture. She has a PhD (ANU, Canberra), and an Honorary D Litt (UNSW, Sydney).