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). Joy joined the GOCA staff in 2023 following four years at Inside Out Youth Services, a nonprofit organization building access, equity, and power with LGBTQIA2+ young people in the Pikes Peak region. Prior to and alongside this meaningful work, Armstrong has spent nearly 20 years in the museum, gallery, and public art realm, including a decade as an award-winning curator of modern and contemporary art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College (FAC). During her time at the FAC, she became known for immersive and interactive exhibitions, often featuring aligned public events, including 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.
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
Armstrong considers her hometown to be Colorado Springs, where she cherishes time with her friends and family, husband Mike, rescue pups Ralph, Shelby, and Ziggy, and felines Bert and Opal.