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Denver Art Museum Celebrates 'One Million Kids' Thanks to Free For Kids Presented by Bellco Credit Union
Arts and Entertainment
October 9, 2024
From: Denver Art MuseumCommunity can mark this milestone with chalk art, face painting and a full program of free, family-friendly activities October 17-20 at the DAM
DENVER - Launched in 2015, Free for Kids program, presented by Bellco Credit Union, underwrites general admission for all visitors ages 18 and under, including youth groups, summer camps, school groups and family visits. The Denver Art Museum (DAM) and Bellco Credit Union announced in early fall of 2024, the free admission of one million kids to the museum. To celebrate this incredible milestone, DAM will present an array of youth-centered activities and programs beginning Thursday, October 17 and will continue through Sunday, October 20, 2024.
“We are thrilled to have shared global collections and creativity with more than one million youth visitors since launching Free for Kids at the Denver Art Museum,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM. “With generous continued support from Bellco Credit Union, the Denver Art Museum continues to lower the barriers to museum access and welcome all young people - from preschoolers to teenagers - to explore world cultures and their own creativity at the museum. Finding ways to support our community’s young people is crucial: Studies show time and again that access to museums and art education experience during childhood build greater quality of life and academic achievement, and a greater sense of empathy and cultural understanding.”
A supporter of Free for Kids since 2016, Bellco became the program’s presenting sponsor in 2023 to continue this important community access program. Free for Kids at the DAM supports free general admission to all visitors ages 18 and under, as well as $5 admission to all special ticketed exhibitions.
“At Bellco, we believe the arts are a significant part of a thriving, vibrant community,” said Jenna McFarlane, Vice President, Marketing, Bellco Credit Union. “The Free for Kids program allows Bellco and the Denver Art Museum to engage families, teens, schools, community groups and youth organizations across Colorado." "It’s amazing that more than one million kids have attended the museum for free since Free for Kids launched in 2015.”
This fall at the DAM, Free for Kids includes access to the museum’s new and renovated collection galleries in the Martin Building, featuring Indigenous arts of North America, Latin American art, arts of the ancient Americas, arts of Asia, photography, textile arts and fashion and western American art. Galleries in the Hamilton Building feature arts of Africa, arts of Oceania and modern and contemporary art will be accessible with Free for Kids. Additionally, Bellco members receive general admission to the DAM on the second full weekend of each month.
Exhibitions on view this fall included with Free for Kids are The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama, Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today, Fazal Sheikh: Thirst/Exposure/In Place, Space Command, Weaving a Foundation: Cornerstones of the Textile Arts Collection, and many more. Free for Kids includes access to artmaking activities in the museum’s Dream Studio and other in-gallery creative opportunities.
Free for Kids is presented by Bellco Credit Union.