Michelle Barnes (born 1948) is an American artist, educator, and arts administrator based in Houston.

She works with sculptural materials including fibers and papier-mâché, and is the co-founder and executive director of the Community Artists’ Collective.

This initiative showed art on a part-time basis in the theater's lobby, with Barnes installing each exhibit prior to that evening’s play and removing them shortly after the performance.

[11] She was the coordinator of the Minority Internship Program for college students launched at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in the summer of 1990.

[9][13][6][14] The organization also offers programming to introduce children and adults to various forms of art such as pottery, painting, quilting, and photography.

[citation needed] She found the first location for the Collective in 1989 at the intersection of La Branch and Elgin streets in Houston.

[7] The exhibition featuring photos by a South African magazine with the opening coinciding with Nelson Mandela's release from prison.