Dr. Ruth Phillips trained as an art historian at Harvard University (B.A.), the University of Toronto (M.A.), and the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London (Ph.D.). Her doctorate thesis on African art was grounded in fieldwork she conducted in Sierra Leone, and it focussed on the Sande society masks (commonly known as "Bundu" masks) used by the Mende women.
Dr. Phillips taught in the art history department of Carleton University for 16 years, developing a new research and teaching field in the Native Arts of North America. Her exhibition work includes Patterns of Power: The Jasper Grant Collection and Great Lakes Indian Art of the Early 19th Century (1984) and participation in the curatorial teams of The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canadašs First Peoples (1988) and the current Across Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life. She is the author of Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700-1900 (1998); Native North American Art for the Oxford History of Art (1998, with Janet C. Berlo); Unpacking Culture: Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial (1999, co-edited with Christopher Steiner); and Representing Woman: Sande Society Masks of the Mende (1995).
In 1997, Dr. Phillips was appointed Director of the Museum of Anthropology, where she continues to teach graduate seminars in the history and theory of the museum. Since joining the museum, she has continued to work with museum staff in developing and implementing collaborative approaches with BC First Nations communities, and other communities in the Lower Mainland. This collaborative approach addresses issues of pluralism, multivocality in public representation and increased access to museum resources for communities.