Kick-off event Thursday, May 6, 6:30 pm
This spring, the Akron Art Museum will offer a five-session, condensed, Thursday evening docent class that will prepare participants to give museum highlights and summer day camp tours. The class, titled “Docent Essentials,” will kick-off on Thursday, May 6 at 6:30 pm in the museum’s Beatrice Knapp McDowell Grand Lobby with a short presentation, the opportunity to mingle with current docents and a free museum tour.
An integral part of the museum, docents are specially trained volunteers who guide groups of adults and children on tours through the building. Perfect for art lovers of all ages, docenting offers an extraordinary experience for people who love art, working with others and continually challenging their minds through learning. It is the docent’s job to encourage discussion and provide information about the museum and the artwork on view, both in the collection and special exhibitions throughout the year.
The “Docent Essentials” class is tailored to fit participants’ busy schedules, condensing the material into a five week “beginner” course designed to acquaint you with the museum’s tour program. Attendees who complete the sessions will graduate ready to give museum highlights and summer day camp tours. Session topics include Meaningful Museum Experiences, Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking, Art and Architecture Basics, and Mod Squad: Looking at Modern and Contemporary Art.
Classes will pick back up in the fall after recessing for summer, offering new docents expanded training that will allow them to give a wider variety of tours. New docents will choose the audiences that they feel most comfortable working with and attend sessions related to touring those groups. These “Tour Tool Box” sessions include ABC’s of working with primary school students, tips on touring “too cool for school” middle school students and issues related to senior groups such as touring Alzheimer’s patients.
Becoming a docent has many advantages which include a continued education in modern and contemporary art, free and discounted tickets to various events and programs, museum gift shop discounts, exhibition walk-throughs with curators, artists and other sneak-peek opportunities and annual appreciation and holiday luncheons.
Interested parties should contact Associate Educator Alison Caplan for more information or to RSVP at 330.376.9186 x230 or aCaplan@AkronArtMuseum.org.
