Joy Armstrong, Ph.D.

Joy L. Armstrong, Ph.D. (she|they) is the Director and Curator of the Galleries of Contemporary Art (GOCA) at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs (UCCS). Dr. Armstrong joined the GOCA staff in 2023 with two decades of professional experience in museum curation, gallery management, and public art advocacy. From 2010-2019 she served as an award-winning Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. During her tenure, she became known for immersive and interactive exhibitions, often featuring aligned public events and intentional community outreach, such as Pamela Joseph’s Sideshow of the Absurd and the annual Halloween Bash, El Mac: Aerosol Exalted and JAM FAC, and Virgil Ortiz: ReVOlution with Sashay. Additional experience in curation, exhibition management and installation, community engagement, and nonprofit administration/program development include positions at Kent State University, the Akron Art Museum, Inside Out Youth Services, Imagination Celebration, and more. 

Armstrong holds a B.A. in studio art and communications from the University of Denver, an M.A. in contemporary art history and criticism from Kent State University, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy from UCCS. Her dissertation, History and Belonging: A Phenomenological Study of Participatory Public Art Murals in Colorado, investigated the ways in which creative engagement with public art can build community, celebrate identity, and address systemic social inequities to advance a more just tomorrow. In addition to her academic pursuits, she is both personally and professionally a committed proponent of authentic, collaborative, community engagement in the arts as a powerful tool to improve individual and societal health.
 

Upper Division

• MSGP 4040 - Gallery Management I