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Posts Tagged 'docents'

Access Docents to the Rescue!

Published April 21, 2015 Access Programs Closed
Tags: docents

Our docent corps is a group of over 100 dedicated volunteers who are responsible for touring thousands of visitors through the Museum each year. DMA docents have a deep knowledge of the collection and work to craft their tours based on the interests and ages of their audience. And this past year we initiated our first group of DMA Access Docents–volunteers who expressed an interest in helping with DMA Access Programs, in addition to the groups they were already touring!

We began the program by meeting with a group of eight Access Docents each month to discuss access programming best practices and learn successful communication and teaching strategies for visitors with special needs. We welcomed a guest from the Alzheimer’s Association to share general information about Alzheimer’s and an autism specialist from TWU to speak about autism.

This year, our training was more hands-on and consisted of observation and team teaching. The Access Docents primarily help with our Meaningful Moments for Groups and All Access Art programs. Many of the docents volunteered with these programs throughout the year and got to know several of the regular participants.

We’ve found that offering Access Program opportunities to our docents is a great way to share teaching responsibilities, which allows us to schedule more programs than we’d be able to if we only relied on staff. It is also a wonderful chance for staff to get to know the docents better and learn from them. We meet often throughout the year to touch base, brainstorm upcoming program themes, and share teaching strategies.

Access Docents have shared with us the joy they feel when forming relationships and interacting with people from the same groups each month. Many of them have also mentioned that their access work has enriched their school tours: they re-purpose information and gallery games and incorporate them into tours. Since school tours generally don’t include a studio activity, many of the Access Docents have enjoyed the chance to use hands-on materials, integrating art-making into the Museum experience.

We are thrilled to have such a passionate group of specialized volunteers helping us to teach our Access Programs!

Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

Recipe for Art: The DMA’s Delicious New Tour

Published January 6, 2015 Art & Teaching 1 Comment
Tags: Art, connections, creativity, Dallas Museum of Art, docents, recipe, students, tours

With a new year beginning, we are delighted to announce a new school tour at the DMA! Starting this month, schools can book “Recipe for Art,” a tour developed for Kindergarten and First Grade visitors by our Manager of Early Learning Programs, Leah Hanson, and our Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs, Josh Rose.

One of the main goals of “Recipe for Art” is to help children make connections between art and their own personal experience. This is done by connecting a familiar idea (that of using a recipe to make a delicious treat) to the way that an artist makes a work of art. Instead of ingredients like flour and sugar, the ingredients for art are the elements of design: shape, line, color and texture.

Puzzle version of Robert Delaunay’s Eiffel Tower.

Color paddles and paint chips help the students explore color!

On the tour, groups will visit four or five different works of art in the collection, in order to talk about the basic elements of design. Groups first explore what the terms mean before then looking closely at the work of art in front of them. This leads to discussion, after which the children engage in a variety of kinetic and multi-sensory activities. These activities were specially designed to address various learning styles and to focus on the attention span and needs of this particular age group.

Jackson Pollock, Cathedral, 1947, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard J. Reis, 1950.87

Felt and string version for the DMA’s “Cathedral” activity.

Photograph of Jackson Pollock painting.

One important characteristic of these young visitors is their need to move! The tour was specifically designed to give children opportunities for purposeful movement–movement that helps them connect what they see to the motion that they are asked to make. One example of this is an activity based on Jackson Pollock’s Cathedral. The children are each given “paint” (a piece of string) and they throw it onto a “canvas” (a piece of felt), in order to simulate the movement of Pollock’s action painting. This allows the children to burn off some of their energy, while also connecting them with the art!

Leah Hanson sharing tips and strategies for the tour.

Docents exploring the activities!

The “Recipe for Art” tour was developed by members of the DMA staff, but it will be implemented by our wonderful docents, who lead most of our school tours. Yesterday, the docents gathered for a training dedicated to this new tour. Leah gave them an overview of the tour and its origins, before sharing tips and strategies on how to deal with this particular age group. After that, the docents were given an opportunity to look over the supplies for the wide variety of activities that they may use on the tour. I even took some of my fellow McDermott Interns into the galleries to try out some of the activities!

McDermott Interns exploring activities with Gerald Murphy’s Watch (1925, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the artist, 1963.75FA)

McDermott Interns exploring Robert Delaunay’s Eiffel Tower (1924, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.105)

For most visitors of this age group, it will be their first visit to a museum. With this new and unique tour, we’re hoping to make their first experience not only a positive one, but one that they will remember. By teaching these curious and imaginative children the basic elements of design, they will then be equipped with all of the ingredients to make their own art!

We’ve already begun to schedule the “Recipe for Art” through the month of January. If you’re interested in booking a tour for your school or classroom, complete our tour request form online and our Audience Relations Coordinator Madeleine Fitzgerald will get you scheduled!

Liz Bola
McDermott Graduate Intern for Gallery and Community Teaching

Welcome Josh Rose

Published June 3, 2014 People Closed
Tags: DMA staff, docents, Education staff, teachers

I am excited to introduce you to our newest teammate and colleague, Josh Rose. Josh started four weeks ago as our new Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs and we are thrilled to have him on board. Josh will oversee the DMA docent program, teen docents, school partnerships with Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, and a wide variety of programs for teachers. Josh will also be responsible for the Museum Forum for Teachers and will manage gallery tours for K-12 students, higher-ed, and adult audiences.

If you are a longtime attendee of Late Nights, gallery talks, or our lecture series, you may recognize Josh from his time here at the DMA six years ago managing adult programs. During his time away from the DMA, Josh has been immersed in teaching, serving as an adjunct instructor at multiple institutions, including the University of North Texas, Eastfield College and Brookhaven College, where he taught a range of courses from Art Appreciation to advanced art history classes on comics and Surrealism. Prior to working in public programs at the DMA, Josh interned at the Nasher Sculpture Center in education and conservation, and then worked there as a staff member in the Education Department. Josh has an MA in art history from the University of North Texas. His thesis was titled: When Reality was Surreal: Lee Miller’s world War II War Correspondence for Vogue. Josh also has a BFA in Studio Art from Texas State University in San Marcos.

Here are four fun facts about Josh:

I drew a comic strip in college and graduate school featured in a nationally-distributed anthology published by Andrews McMeel.
I once answered an open casting call for the role of Robin in Batman Forever.
As a conservation intern, my first task was power-sanding an Alexander Calder sculpture.
I’ve worked hard turning my daughter into a rabid Doctor Who fan, and she in turn has turned me into a rabid My Little Pony fan.

We are excited for Josh’s fresh perspective that he brings and delighted to have him as our FAST (Family, Access, Schools, and Teachers) friend!

Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

So Long, Farewell…

Published December 5, 2013 Art & Teaching , People 2 Comments
Tags: docents, farewell, teachers

For the past six-and-a-half years, the Dallas Museum of Art has been my home. I have often referred to my office as my “apartment,” and my co-workers have come to feel like my family. But sometimes, you need to move away from home and on to something new, and now is that time for me. I have accepted a position as the Assistant Director of Interpretive Programming at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and December 9th will be my last day at the DMA.

It’s very bittersweet to be leaving a place (and people) that I love. But my new job will present opportunities to plan programs for visitors of all ages–from toddlers to adults–and I’m looking forward to broadening my knowledge of Museum Education through this new position. And I’ll be a lot closer to my family in Michigan, which will be wonderful.

As I reflect back on my time in Dallas, it’s tough to narrow down my favorite DMA memories. I’m not sure what I’ll miss most!

Maybe my desk–but a lot of these things will be moving to Ohio with me.

photo (7)

Or maybe the Scrabble game that has been occurring on my file cabinet for the past year.

I’ll certainly miss our docents, whose passion and dedication to the DMA continues to amaze and inspire me.

And I will most definitely miss the clever and talented students of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. My time with them has been one of the highlights.

I’ll miss the DMA’s amazing collection, including The Icebergs. We all jumped for joy when it returned to the galleries earlier this year.

And most of all, I will miss the DMA Education department. They have taught me everything I know about being a Museum Educator, and they’re not just my colleagues. They are my dearest friends. I’ll especially miss our retreats and off-site meetings–we know how to have fun while getting work done!

Thank you to everyone who has made my time at the DMA so memorable–from students to teachers and from the docents to my colleagues. I will miss everyone very much, but hope to see y’all again soon!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

Docents in Motion

Published November 21, 2013 Art & Teaching 2 Comments
Tags: docents, Landscape, tableau vivant, tours

The DMA has over 100 docents who lead tours for visitors of all ages. Our docents are here every Monday for training from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Their training sessions are led by the DMA’s curators as well as outside speakers, and topics include both our permanent collection and special exhibitions. Some of our docents have been part of the docent family for 43 years, while others have been with us for only three months.

I have the pleasure of spending every Monday afternoon with our fifteen funny, smart, and dedicated new docents. Since September, the new docents have been learning how to teach with works of art. Each week, we immerse ourselves in the DMA collection with experiences ranging from how to look at a painting to imagining a text message exchange between two portraits.

This week, the new docents had their first introduction to our American galleries. I divided the docents into 3 groups and each group was assigned to a landscape painting. Their task was to recreate the painting using only their bodies. My ambitious group went one better–they created sound and movements, too! I couldn’t resist sharing the videos I filmed of their performances.

Annette, Charlie, Debi, Evan, and Lauren did an interpretive dance for Georgia O’Keeffe’s Gray Blue & Black-Pink Circle.

Barbara, David, Devika, and Felix animated Marsden Hartley’s Mountains, no. 19.

Ali, Art, Flo, and Stephanie re-interpreted Frederic Church’s The Icebergs.

The next time you’re in the DMA galleries, try to create your own tableau vivant for one of our masterpieces.

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

What Does Fun Look Like at the DMA?

Published September 5, 2013 Art & Teaching 1 Comment
Tags: Art, docents, experiences, fun, goal, tours

I have written posts in the past about our goals for docent-guided tours at the DMA. Our current goal statement was written five years ago, and I think it’s in need of a few updates. It states that we want students to feel comfortable at the Museum, as well as to begin to see their world in a fresh way. What does that mean, and how can we measure whether that happens on our tours?

Over the summer, I met with small groups of docents to begin redefining our goal for tours. These docents were asked “What are your motivations and desires when planning a tour for the DMA’s visitors?” Their answers were thoughtful and really demonstrate their passion for the work that they do at the DMA.

My hope is that they will learn how to “look” in a museum setting and that they will want to return or visit other museums.
My biggest goal is to get the students to want to come back and to leave with vivid memories of what they saw.
My biggest hope is that even one child sees an object that excites them and makes them want to see more.
I want them to leave with more questions than they had when they came in so that they will be eager to come back and enjoy what this museum has to offer.
I want the students to feel comfortable, be inspired and amazed, learn a few things, and have fun!
My motivation is to share objects that are special to me so that I can bring genuine excitement to them.

I plugged the docents’ responses into Wordle in order to easily see what words popped up repeatedly. In a word cloud, the size of a word corresponds with the number of times it was entered into Wordle. From this word cloud, it’s obvious that a “fun experience” is the top motivation for our docents when planning tours.

As a group, the docents and I are now trying to unpack the word “fun.” Just what does a fun experience at the DMA look like? How do we know that students are having fun in our galleries? Do sketching and inventing stories about a work of art lead to a fun experience? Is laughter our best indicator that students are enjoying their tour? These are just some of the questions that we are pondering as we begin our new training year.

StudentVisits_ShannonKarol_02_27_2009_072

These kiddos certainly appear to be having fun on their tour

Now it’s your turn to weigh in. I would love to have your insight as we move forward with revising our goal for docent-guided tours. How do you know that your students (or children) are having fun at the DMA? What have been some of their favorite experiences here? If you’re a teacher, I am also curious to know what your motivations are when you schedule a field trip to the DMA. It will be interesting to see how your motivations overlap with those of our docents.

Please add your comments below or feel free to email me. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on having fun at the DMA!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

Published August 21, 2013 Collections , Dallas , DFW , Education , Go van Gogh Closed
Tags: Charles Rohlfs, Dallas Museum of Art, DMA, docents, khipu, Peru, Pierre Bonnard, school tours, School year

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m looking forward to the start of a new school year later this month. The DMA’s galleries have been quiet during the “school day” without the sounds of docents, teachers, and students deep in conversation about works of art. I thought it might be fun to celebrate back-to-school time with a DMA tribute to the “three Rs.”

Reading
Pierre Bonnard often used his nieces and nephews as models for his paintings. Bonnard was also fascinated by education, and in this painting he shows his nephews Charles and Jean Terrasse reading at a table. It’s easy to imagine that these two children are completing their homework assignments before going to bed. It certainly looks as if one of the boys is more interested in his reading than the other—a scene that is probably familiar to many parents and teachers.

Pierre Bonnard, Interior: The Terrasse Children, 1899, oil on paper board panel, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Writing
Charles Rohlfs’ Swinging Writing Desk was one of the trademarks of his artistic furniture style. The desk rests on a footed platform and spins on a series of small wheels. The interior of the desk is divided into small compartments—perfect for storing pencils, pens, and any other supplies you might need. I don’t think I would mind doing homework if I had such a beautiful desk to use.

Desk (Model #500), Charles Rohlfs, Charles Rohlfs Workshop, c. 1899-1901, white oak with iron hardware, Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift

Arithmetic
The name khipu comes from a Quechua word meaning “knot,” a fitting name as khipu are made up of many strands of knotted fibers. It is not known what the knots signify, but it is thought that they represent a numerical record. Numbers may be indicated by the size and position of each knot on its cord.

Fragmentary khipu with two main cords and top and subsidiary and tertiary cords, Inca, Late Horizon, c. A.D. 1476-1534, cotton, plant fiber, and indigo dye, Dallas Museum of Art, the Nora and John Wise Collection, bequest of John Wise

Fragmentary khipu with two main cords and top and subsidiary and tertiary cords, Inca, Late Horizon, c. 1476-1534, cotton, plant fiber, and indigo dye, Dallas Museum of Art, the Nora and John Wise Collection, bequest of John Wise

September 16 is the official start date for student programs at the DMA, but we’re currently taking reservations for Museum visits and Go van Gogh outreach programs. Scheduling information can be found online. If you are an educator, we hope you’ll consider bringing your students to the Museum this year. I hope they’ll be as excited as this student was to visit the DMA!

Student jumping off of a school bus at the DMA.

Shannon Karol is Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs at the DMA.

The Kennedys in Texas

Published June 4, 2013 Art & Teaching 1 Comment
Tags: docents, Hotel Texas, Kennedy, teacher workshop, The Sixth Floor Museum

When I visited Dallas for the first time, my number one must-see destination was The Sixth Floor Museum. I have been fascinated by the Kennedy family since I was nine years old, and I felt compelled to make a pilgrimage to Dealey Plaza and the former Texas School Book Depository. What I didn’t realize is that many Texans, including a large number of the DMA’s docents, have never been to The Sixth Floor Museum. That changed last week, when a group of docents and I ventured down to the West End to explore The Sixth Floor Museum as a group.

The original sign from the Texas School Book Depository on display at The Sixth Floor Museum

The timing for our field trip couldn’t have been better. Just last week, Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy opened at the DMA. This exhibition brings together thirteen of the sixteen artworks that were placed in Suite 850 at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth. The President and Mrs. Kennedy slept in Suite 850 on November 21, 1963–the night before his fateful trip to Dallas. The original installation was created over the course of five days by a small group of art collectors in Fort Worth. Works by Picasso, van Gogh, Marsden Hartley, and Thomas Eakins decorated the suite’s living room and two bedrooms. The DMA is marking the anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination by bringing these works back together for the first time in 50 years.

Docent Judy Butts examines Charles Marion Russell’s Lost in a Snowstorm

The docents and I explored Hotel Texas together before traveling down to The Sixth Floor Museum. Once we were there, we were greeted by the museum’s chief curator, Gary Mack. Gary spoke with us about his time at The Sixth Floor Museum, including his role in curating the museum’s main exhibition: John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation. After speaking with Gary, we were free to explore the museum at our own pace. This was my fifth visit to The Sixth Floor Museum, and every visit is powerful and moving. This visit was even more special, though, as I listened to the docents share their memories of where they were on November 22, 1963.

Sharron Conrad and Gary Mack speak with the DMA’s docents at The Sixth Floor Museum

For those of you who participate in DMA Friends, we have launched a new JFK Badge in conjunction with the Hotel Texas exhibition. To receive this badge, you only need to visit The Sixth Floor Museum and the Hotel Texas exhibit at the DMA. Show your ticket stub from The Sixth Floor Museum to our Visitor Services Staff to receive the code. We hope to encourage our Friends and visitors to take this unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of history through these exhibitions.

The DMA and The Sixth Floor Museum have also teamed up to offer a special experience just for teachers during a full-day Teacher Workshop on Thursday, June 27th. The Kennedys in Texas: The Art and History of November 22, 1963 will begin at the DMA in the Hotel Texas exhibition. After breaking for lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon at The Sixth Floor Museum. Registration is now available online–just select “Teacher Programs” to sign up. We hope to see you there!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

Over and Out

Published May 23, 2013 Museum Insight , People 1 Comment
Tags: Community Teaching, Dallas Museum of Art, docents, Gallery Teaching, Go van Gogh, McDermott Interns

Today is the last day at the Dallas Museum of Art for the 2012-2013 McDermott Interns. Pilar and I have had a great time working together for the Family, Access, and School Experiences team and writing for Canvas. We will miss the DMA and wanted to reflect on our time here.

Pilar celebrates her birthday at the DMA!

3 things I learned at the DMA:

I have learned that elementary school girls are obsessed with One Direction! In spending lots of time teaching our Go van Gogh outreach programs, I’ve gained quite an insight as to what’s cool these days (hint, it’s not me).
While I am a McDermott education intern, there are also four McDermott curatorial interns with whom we share office space. I have learned so much about the curatorial side of the museum field through daily interactions with these awesome future curators!
I have had the amazing opportunity to learn how to teach in a formal classroom setting through Go van Gogh. This experience has allowed me to understand the differences in practice between formal and informal instruction styles.

Favorite part of the internship:

I was able to develop a new Go van Gogh curriculum that is based on American History as told by DMA artworks. I not only learned a ton about the editing and review process that takes place at a large institution, but I also had a great refresher course on American history!

Post-internship plans:

I will be doing lots of travelling this summer: Colorado, New Mexico, Amsterdam, the south of France, and Spain! After which, I’ll end up in Vancouver where I will be starting in the Master of Museum Education program at the University of British Columbia.

Pilar Wong
McDermott Intern for Community Teaching

Alex bids farewell from Emery Reves’ study

3 things I learned at the DMA:

I’ve really enjoyed working with our docent corps of about 100 volunteers. They are an enthusiastic, intelligent, generous bunch. I’ve learned a great deal from the DMA docents, and I will miss working with them.
As the Gallery Teaching Intern, I toured mainly with elementary school students. That age group consistently offered refreshing interpretations of works of art, and their enthusiasm and frankness is something to which more adults, myself included, should aspire.
I’ve definitely learned the importance of flexibility and openness. Some of the best experiences I’ve had have resulted from spontaneous changes – whether filling in last-minute for a docent or allowing visitors to choose what they want to see and discuss.

Favorite part of the internship:

I loved writing docent guides. These guides help introduce the docents to special exhibitions and the DMA’s permanent collection. They offer art historical and contextual information, as well as ways to interpret these shows for a variety of audiences. It combines my interest in research and art history with my passion for education.

Post-internship plans:

I’ll be sticking around Dallas for June and July. Then I will embark on my version of The Great American Roadtrip as I head back to the east coast. In the fall I will begin the Arts in Education master’s program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Alex Vargo
McDermott Intern for Gallery Teaching

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this experience so fulfilling. Have a great summer!

Sincerely,
2012-2013 McDermott Interns

Wanted: A Few Good Volunteers

Published May 9, 2013 Art & Teaching , People Closed
Tags: C3 Volunteer, docents, Go van Gogh, Volunteer

If you would like to become more deeply involved with the DMA, consider these exciting volunteer opportunities. We are currently recruiting applicants to fill three different volunteer positions!

Starting in Summer 2013: C3 Volunteer Program
Pairs well with: An interest in interacting with people of all ages, leading fun activities in the galleries, and spending time with works of art

The Center for Creative Connections (C3) is an experimental, dynamic learning environment that provides interactive encounters with works of art and artists. C3 volunteers act as hosts and welcome visitors, answer their questions, and personalize their Museum experience by providing information on the Museum’s collections, programs and activities. In addition, volunteers manage the C3 space by organizing and maintaining the C3 area, enforcing good Museum behavior, observing visitor flow, and prepping program and activity supplies. Volunteers also lead activities in the galleries and assist with special events such as Late Nights.

Volunteers attend mandatory trainings at the Museum beginning in June. The first training is on June 15 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Three-hour volunteer shifts are available Tuesday-Sunday from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Thursdays 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., and select Fridays 6:00 p.m.-12:00 p.m.

We are especially in need of volunteers who are available Tuesday-Friday from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., but folks who are available on evenings and weekends are equally welcome to apply. To request an application, email Rhiannon Martin. The application deadline is Friday, May 31.

Georgia, a C3 Volunteer, greets visitors as they enter the Center for Creative Connections.

Starting in Fall 2013: Docent Program
Pairs well with: A passion for teaching and learning, leading conversations and gallery experiences, and spending time with works of art

The desire to communicate the power of art to others is the main requirement to become a docent, and we are currently recruiting new docents for the 2013-2014 training year. New docents complete a yearlong training program consisting of lectures, gallery talks, and workshops led by Museum staff and outside experts. These training sessions, held each Monday from September through May, prepare new docents for tours by introducing them to the DMA’s collection and immersing them in our teaching philosophy. After completing training, docents conduct weekly tours for groups of visitors ranging from elementary school students to adult visitors.

If you (or someone you know) would like to learn more about the DMA docent program or to request an application for the 2013-2014 training year, email Shannon Karol. The application deadline is Friday, May 24.

Marilyn, a DMA Docent, talks with students about Edward Hopper’s Lighthouse Hill.

Starting in Fall 2013: Go van Gogh Program
Pairs well with: Enthusiasm for teaching 1st-6th grade students, leading conversations and art-making activities at Dallas-area schools, and spending time with works of art

Check back in July for information about volunteering with the Go van Gogh® program during the 2013-2014 school year.

Karen, a Go van Gogh volunteer, helps students with an art project

Karen, a Go van Gogh volunteer, works with first grade students on an art activity

We hope you’ll consider volunteering with us!

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs

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Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Posts Tagged 'docents'

Access Docents to the Rescue!

Recipe for Art: The DMA’s Delicious New Tour

Welcome Josh Rose

So Long, Farewell…

Docents in Motion

What Does Fun Look Like at the DMA?

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

The Kennedys in Texas

Over and Out

Wanted: A Few Good Volunteers

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