The Denver Art Museum is home to thousands of pieces ranging from paintings by Claude Monet to conceptual sculptures by Tom Friedman. The museum currently shows 23 exhibitions offering a variety of art in which everyone can find something they connect with and love.
“Lots of people take advantage of the free days,” said Miranda Rosales, an employee at the DAM gift shop. “[There’s] a lot more foot traffic than normal weekdays. I would compare it to a Saturday.”
Welcoming everyone, including families, kids in summer camp and people on their lunch break, the DAM hosts free days once or twice a month, offering around 9900 general admission tickets for each event. On the June 11 free day, the lobby was lively with lots of families with younger children, teenagers and older people getting tickets and walking around. The museum offers a wide range of visual arts in several mediums, like watercolor, oil, crayon, clay, textiles and video. Although the free days do not include ticketed exhibitions, there is plenty to see and do. It took me about four hours to explore five different exhibits and the museum was definitely getting more crowded as the day went on.
I started in the Hamilton Building, which Daniel Libeskind built and inspired by the Rocky Mountains. The bold architecture, with its pointed edges resembling crystal structures, has now become one of Denver’s most iconic buildings.
“I was inspired by the light and the geology of the Rockies, but most of all by the wide-open faces of the people of Denver,” Libeskind said about the building.
The building is home to the “Biophilia: Nature Reimagined” exhibit, which is on display until Aug. 11. More than 80 pieces by different artists examine the natural world around us and features chairs, lamps, videos, clothes and sculptures made from various materials.
“This exhibition examines the myriad ways in which the human spirit is interwoven with the natural world and the power of creative practices to maintain and strengthen that connection,” said Darrin Alfred, curator of architecture and design. “The works in ‘Biophilia’ tap into our deeply embedded bond to our environment and its benefits to our minds and bodies.”
Some of my favorites from this temporary exhibit include a floraform chandelier representing the nervous system made by Shapeways, “Meadow,” a kinetic sculpture by DRIFT that bridges technology and nature, a one-seater concrete tree by Nacho Carbonell, and “50 Seas,” a series of sculptures exploring our planet’s bodies of water, by Mathieu Lehanneur.
While the temporary exhibits are some of the most visited, the permanent ones are also very intriguing. According to its website, The Denver Art Museum dedicates more than 20,000 square feet of gallery space to exhibiting its unparalleled Indigenous Arts of North America collection. The collection features more than 18,000 objects ranging from ancient Puebloan and Mississippian ceramics to 19th-century beaded garments and carved masks to cutting-edge contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography and variable media art. The DAM holds one of the most comprehensive collections from this region, in existence—with particular strengths in art from the Plains and the Southwest, as well as works from the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Subarctic regions.
Patrick Garrett, a TikToker who shares things to do around Colorado sings its praises. “My personal favorite is the exhibit on Indigenous North American Art. I think it is one of the best exhibits in the world celebrating the beauty and resilience of Native American culture.”
Another permanent exhibition growing daily is “European and American Art before 1900.” Donations from philanthropists, including Samuel H. Kress, the Guggenheims and the Havemeyers, help the collection continue to grow. In 2018 and 2019 the museum received over 100 new pieces by artists like Sir Anthony van Dyck, Sir Peter Lely, François Boucher, Paul Gauguin, three rare works on paper by Claude Monet and more.
Free Days at the DAM are made possible by six Front Range Toyota Stores and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, or SCFD. SCFD is a voter-approved special district that provides a stable source of supplemental funding to more than 300 scientific and cultural organizations. It is also made possible by Bellco Credit Union which funds general admission to the Denver Art Museum to all visitors under 18 years old every day, granting more kids access to art than ever before. This summer the museum will offer its free days on July 9, July 21 and Aug. 13. The museum offers 10 a.m. or 5 p.m. admission and is open until 8 p.m.
“The museum is so large, you’ll probably need more than one visit to see and appreciate it all,” Garrett said.
I love this article for elaborating on the free museum days. I really appreciate Denver’s ability to provide this enriching resource, and I am always telling my friends about this. Two small suggestions: link to the https://scfd.org/find-culture/free-days/ early so folks know that there are possibilities to visit other museums too, and the Biophilia exhibit ends on August 11 instead of August 5 that was stated in the article.
Thanks for this. I’ve corrected the article. Best, Vicky