Joan Kerr was the editor for two important publications on Australian artists, The Dictionary of Australian Artists: Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870 (Oxford UP, 1992) and Heritage: the National Women's Art Book: 500 Works by 500 Australian Women Artists from Colonial Times to 1955 (Craftsman House, 1995). She was responsible for a handful of exhibitions and mentor to many other researchers.