DU Galleries: University Art Collections

 University Galleries & Art Collections

• Vicki Myhren Gallery
• Davis Gallery

The Vicki Myhren Gallery is the principal exhibition venue for visual art at the University of Denver. Dedicated to interdisciplinary visual arts programming and practice, the VMG is integral to the educational mission of the School of Art and Art History and the university and provides opportunities for engagement with the communities beyond campus. Established in 2001, the gallery is named in honor Victoria H. Myhren, a life-long lover of the visual arts who believes students and communities should have access to vibrant spaces for creative engagement with art and artists.

The VMG exhibits with relevance thoughtfully connecting to curricula across the university while engaging the community. We are contemporary, experimental, and creative, while connecting to historic influences. We are thought-provoking and dynamic. We are not a space but an experience—made by the people who interface with the art: artists, curators, students and faculty who interpret and shape the space through exhibitions and programming. The VMG is a space where ideas become visible. At times contemplative, at times argumentative, but always vibrant, the VMG provides a lens through which to gaze and engage. It invites and demands attention. It engages across and beyond campus, coming to you and beckoning you in. It is reliably ever-changing and ever-relevant in your quest provocation, contemplation, exploration, and interconnection across time, space, history and subject matter. You come back for more, because you must.



The University of Denver’s newest exhibition space, the Davis Gallery, is a student-powered initiative for community creative projects located in the lobby of Shwayder Art Building. The Davis Gallery was founded in the name of Helen Davis, a generous supporter of the arts, with additional funding from LinkAGES. The creation of the Davis Gallery was spearheaded by Roddy MacInnes, Professor of Photography at the School of Art and Art History, who now serves as the faculty supervisor of the space. Constructed during the 2021-2022 academic year, the space first opened to the public in January 2022.

The Davis Gallery is open to all DU community members. Each academic year, two graduate students are selected to coordinate, install, and assist with curating a calendar of rotating exhibitions. These two students are referred to as the Programming and Engagement Coordinators. Exhibitions are submitted online, and then selected by the Davis Gallery committee. Though housed in the Schwayder Art Building, dedicated to the study and practice of the visual arts, the Davis Gallery is open to all DU campus. The Davis Gallery, along with the Vicki Myhren Gallery, is intended as an appendage to the School of Art and Art History’s educational mission. The Davis Gallery is specifically oriented towards important student professional development, cross-disciplinary collaborations, student community collaborations, and experimental exhibitions. By providing a safe space to show works and ideas, the gallery hopes to facilitate exciting conversations and opportunities for the DU campus community and beyond.