BIO

Holly Harmon joined the Denver Art Museum in 2022 as Interpretive Specialist for Architecture and Design. In her role, she collaborates with curators and other DAM staff to develop engaging and relevant exhibitions that appeal to diverse audiences. Holly oversees the Ellen Bruss Design Studio where visitors can explore design thinking and processes through preparatory sketches, material samples, and hands-on artmaking. She also manages the Adult Talks & Tours Docent program, which strives to provide meaningful connections between visitors and works of art. 

Holly was interpretation lead on Biophilia: Nature Reimagined, Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks and Dawoud Bey: Street Portraits. She is a vocal visitor advocate with expertise in exhibition and interpretive planning, gallery teaching and facilitation, evaluation, and accessibility. In 2024, Holly and her collaborators received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to support Designing for Accessibility, a community-centered project that explores design thinking through the lens of disability. Through this grant, the design studio will be transformed into a living laboratory for prototyping accessible exhibition design and a community-curated showcase. 

Before joining the DAM, Holly worked at the intersection of interpretation and education at the Jewish Museum, New Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Detroit Institute of Arts. She also educated visitors at various museums in Washington, DC including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  Holly served as an adjunct professor at New York University where she designed and facilitated "Digital Technologies in the Arts Organization" for their master's in visual arts administration. She authored "Innovative Responses to COVID-19: Serving and Strengthening Communities," in 2021 for Museum Innovation: Building More Equitable, Relevant, and Impactful Museums. She received her bachelor’s from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and her master’s in Art History from Syracuse University.