GRAND TOURS: MUSEUM DOCENTS LEAD THE WAY
September 22, 2000
Washington Post
by Stephen Murdoch
Page N36
Home-schooled Emerie Snyder fell in love with Diego Velazquez’s paintings on a trip to Spain when she was 14. Upon returning to the United States, she scoured the library for art history books and took an art history course at Montgomery College. Then she saw a notice in the paper for a docent training course that was particularly enticing because it focused on an aspect of art history you don’t hear much about: the history of female artists.
At 15, Snyder applied to be a docent at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Now 17, she is an articulate and confident young woman who talks knowledgeably about art. “I can see Velazquez’s influence in a whole long line of artists,” she says. “From Goya, Sargent and Manet down to Picasso.” Being an extremely young docent doesn’t bother her, or her tour groups, at all. “A lot of times people see that I have a badge and that I’m taking control of the group, so they don’t assume that I’m 17. I hopefully get judged more on what I’m saying and what the tour’s like than how old I am.”
Docents are museum volunteers who lead tours of permanent and special exhibits, answer the public’s questions and visit schools and senior centers. Some local museums have docents that lead hands-on tours. At the Natural History Museum, docents invite the public to handle a variety of objects; and at the Hirshhorn, docents lead groups of blind visitors through an exhibit of sculpture they can touch.
In a way, docents are like Supreme Court justices: They stick around for as long as they can, leaving few vacancies for those aspiring to the positions. At the Hirshhorn, 17 of the 104 active docents have been volunteers since the museum’s inception 26 years ago, and 16 more started a year later and are still leading tours. At the National Gallery of Art, one docent has been leading tours for 37 years. Thus, although there are scores of museums, historical houses and gardens in the Washington area, it can be difficult to get a docent position. Museums, however, often keep lists of people to contact in the future even if there is no present need for docents or their docent classes are full.
Museum docent programs look for people who share Snyder’s passion for the subject matter. Susan Badder, curator of education at the Corcoran, says that when interviewing applicants, “It’s the personality we look for. Not that one has to be Mr. or Ms. Congeniality, but there has to be some sense of wanting to share that which you find so special with other people.” Badder does not require people to be knowledgeable about art before their training, although she admits it can be helpful.
Most museums need docents annually or twice a year, and training usually begins in the fall, just like an academic year. (The Phillips Collection, on the other hand, takes docents only once every three years.) Larger museums tend to use more docents and have more extensive training programs. The National Gallery of Art, which has 274 active docents, annually trains 20 docents for a full academic year. This includes attending a weekly art history course, studying the collection, studying teaching methodology, taking exams and writing papers. The Museum of Natural History trains 50 new docents every year. Most museums educate docents about their exhibits and provide training in how to give tours and interact with the public.
Many museums require docents to make a two- or three-year commitment because it takes so long to train them properly. New exhibits mean that docents also receive continuing education, usually monthly classes taught by academics, professionals in the field and curators. But according to many museum administrators, docents are often autodidacts and learn more than what is required of them. Maretta Hemsley, docent program coordinator at the Air and Space Museum, says she requires two or three hours of continuing education a month for her docents but that many of them do research on their own.
All the hard work and learning are exactly what Jerry Shapiro loves about being a docent. He volunteers at the Corcoran, the National Building Museum and Hillwood Museum and Gardens. “Docentry is wonderful for people who are retired and want to use it so they don’t lose it,” he observes. In particular, Shapiro enjoys learning about subjects he previously knew very little about. People on his tours are sometimes surprised to learn that he is not an artist or architect, but a retired podiatrist.
The relationship between docent and museum is symbiotic. Museums pour considerable resources into docent training and continuing education programs, while docents provide man-hours to the museums and fresh perspectives to the public. According to Badder, the docent training is worth it for the Corcoran because tours would become stale if staff members had to give them all day. “The reason I like using docents as opposed to solely recorded tours or labels or brochures is that I honestly believe that people respond better to people,” she says. “And with docents you get a variety of people,” and therefore a variety of opinions.
Badder strives to keep the docent group diverse, but it is difficult to do. At the Corcoran, docents are still predominantly white women, although this demographic is changing, in particular on the weekends. Shapiro, too, is bothered by the homogeneity at the museums where he volunteers. “I’ve always been very depressed over the fact that there are very few African American and Hispanic docents,” he says. More men, however, are starting to become docents; and the volunteers’ age range is often huge—at the Hirshhorn the youngest docent is 25, while the oldest is 85.
Docents are unpaid and required to make a considerable time commitment. Nonetheless, according to Badder, if you have a passion for the subject matter, and enjoy learning and public speaking, it’s a wonderful experience. Shapiro agrees. “You can go and be a docent where you know a lot about the subject already—but even better still, decide on something you know nothing about and [the museums] teach you and train you on that particular subject area. It’s like going back to school, but in a more relaxed atmosphere, with collegiality.”
Many area museums use volunteer docents; below is a list of several of the major museums that do and details about their programs:
CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART — 500 17th St. NW. Contact: Susan Badder, 202/639-1726. Docents volunteer four hours a week. There is an ongoing need for docents, but training is in the fall. Some people are taken throughout the year. Docents receive a discount on membership. Web site: www.corcoran.org.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN — Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Contact: David Marhib, 202/357-3235, Ext. 117. Docents are required to lead tours for 35 hours and participate in 35 hours of continuing education annually. Docents lead tours of the museum and do outreach to schoolchildren and senior citizens. Web site: www.si.edu/hirshhorn.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS — First Street and Independence Avenue SE. Contact: Jim Hughes, 202/707-9867, or Tim Schurtter, 202/707-8314. Docents volunteer for one shift a week, the longest of which is 3 1/2 hours. The library currently needs docents; training began Sept. 5, but the library will continue to take applicants. Benefits include free parking on volunteer days, 10 percent discount in sales shop and cafeteria and access to stacks and the music vault. Web site: www.loc.gov.
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM — Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Contact: Maretta Hemsley, 202/633-7427. Docents volunteer four hours a month in addition to completing two or three hours of continuing education per month. Training runs January through June. Currently recruiting for docents to fill spots on weekends, for school tours and at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport. Docents receive free parking and scholarships for the Smithsonian Associates program. Web site: www.nasm.si.edu.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES — Eighth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Contact: Sam Anthony or Rita Sexton, 202/501-5205. Does not need docents at present, but will in the future for its Washington and College Park facilities. Docents volunteer once or more a week. Benefits include parking at the College Park facility, 20 percent discount at the shops and an annual volunteer appreciation day. From July 2001 to 2003, part of the downtown Washington building will be closed for renovation, but there will still be work for volunteers. Web site: www.nara.gov.
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM — 401 F St. NW. Contact: Michael Kruelle, 202/272 2448, Ext. 3302. Training occurs once every two years, with a class this fall. Two shifts of two hours are required every month; continuing education is not required but is highly recommended. Benefits include free membership, an active enrichment program (six annual trips to cultural sites), access to the library and lectures. Web site: www.nbm.org.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART — Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Contact: Will Scott, 202/842-6247 (adult programs) or 202/842-6256 (teacher and school programs). The museum provides nine months of introductory training in addition to continuing education. Tours conducted in nine different languages. Docents are required to give 20 tours per academic year. The class for 2000 is full, but the gallery will soon be recruiting for fall 2001. Benefits include an annual awards presentation and reception for volunteers. Web site: www.nga.gov.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART — 950 Independence Ave. SW. Contact: Edward Lifschitz, 202/357-4600, Ext. 221. No need for docents at present, but current docents are required to give 60 hours of tours a year and participate in 20 hours of continuing education. The museum keeps a list of people who are interested on file and fills its needs in September and January during the year. The next class will probably be fall of 2001. Benefits include invitations to openings and special lectures, use of the library and photographic archives and access to museum curators. Web site: www.si.edu/nmafa.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY — 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Contact: Andrea Lowther, 202/357-1483. Weekday docents volunteer one five-hour shift during the week; weekend docents volunteer two five-hour shifts per month. Docents facilitate activities at hands-on learning centers, present demonstrations and give tours. Must be 21 and a high school graduate. Web site: www.americanhistory.si.edu.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Contact: Magda Schremp, 202/357-3045. Docents volunteer a half-day per week. The museum takes about 50 docents a year and currently needs them. Training begins in September, but volunteer positions are available throughout the year. Web site: www.mnh.si.edu.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS — 1250 New York Ave. NW. Contact: Andrea Leifer-Schless, 202/783-7996. Weekday docents staff the information desk and give guided tours once during the week; weekend docents volunteer once every other weekend. Training starts every September. Docents must commit to two years. Web site: www.nmwa.org.
NEWSEUM — 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Contact: Volunteer Services Coordinator, 888/639-7386. Docents are called historians at the Newseum, which currently has 12 and would like to have about 24 when it moves to downtown Washington. Historians volunteer four hours a week. Benefits include free parking or Metro pass, an employee benefit program (confidential counseling and referral service), discounts in the store and parties. Web site: www.newseum.org.
PHILLIPS COLLECTION — 1600 21st St. NW. Contact: Suzanne Wright, 202/387 2151, Ext. 247. Docents volunteer on average once or twice a week. Phillips is recruiting docents this fall to train in the winter, but has docent classes only once every three years. Docents should have an interest in working with children. Benefits include access to museum curators, a 10 percent discount at the shop, museum membership and parties. Web site: www.phillipscollection.org.
U.S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM — 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW. Contact: Cindy Clovis, 202/479-9738. The museum needs tour guides. Class size is about 25 and training begins in October. Guides also do outreach at local schools. Benefits include field trips, a monthly newsletter, discounts at other museums, 10 passes each month for the permanent exhibition and social events. Web site: www.ushmm.org.