Heidi Holder

Heidi Holder, Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chair of Education at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, has, for over two decades, investigated the role of education to explore and promote ways for communities to connect to art in new and exciting ways in museums and in tertiary education institutions.

Holder has held positions at Brooklyn College and City College, where she led initiatives to increase underrepresented students in the STEM fields and supported success for first-generation college students. Before that, at The Queens Museum, Holder oversaw all visual arts education programs, museum interpretation programs and led efforts to create evidenced-based programs that respond to needs within communities.

At The Met, Holder oversees the full range of the Museum’s education programs with a focus on art and wellbeing, interdisciplinary education and scholarship, and authentic relationships with local and global communities.

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Holder holds a doctorate in Urban Education for the Graduate School and University Center, CUNY.

Heidi Holder will be speaking at MuseumNext Reykjavik :

The Tao, DNA and Black Holes: Creating The Met’s 81st Street Studio

The Met’s 81st Street Studio–an interactive play space on materiality, for children, ages 3 to 11– is viewed by museum professionals around the world as a new benchmark for what’s possible as museums break down traditional barriers to entry, rethink visitor engagement and drive innovation in museum education. Museum professionals from the U.S. and across the world–Germany, Korea, China, UK, France, to name our top five– who either have a children’s space or are about to create one, visit the Studio to play, observe, have dialogue and be inspired. I share how the Tao, institutional DNA, black holes and a sense of community guided how we arrived at the final concept, shaped our internal creation process and supported buy-in for innovation at a 150 year-old universalist art museum.