Holly Keris came to The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in 2002 to take over the job of assistant curator. She recently was named chief curator, which at the Cummer means she has a specialized set of curatorial responsibilities.
In addition to working with the museum’s permanent collection of art dating from 4,000 years ago to the present, she’s also involved with maintaining and developing the institution’s distinctive formal gardens, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s a living work of art. There is nowhere else quite like this in Jacksonville,” said Keris at the Riverside Avenue museum and gardens.
The garden begins changing with the light each day when the sun comes up. It is planted with hundreds of varieties of local and exotic specimens that bloom at different times of the year.
“It’s like being able to walk through a painting,” Keris said.
One of her current projects is an addition to the garden space, the Olmstead Garden. Keris said construction is scheduled to begin later this summer with the grand unveiling expected in October 2013.
The museum’s permanent collection of art also is evolving. Keris said the decision was made two years ago to include more examples of contemporary art.
Those are added to the classical collection at the museum and gardens, which were gifted to the people of Jacksonville by Ninah Cummer more than 50 years ago.
“If you haven’t been to the Cummer in a while, you haven’t been to the Cummer,” said Keris.
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