Summer School For Docents

The Road Show is still on the road, and behind in the posts!

From July 9 to July 15 I was part of a group of docents from all over the country that came to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA to learn more about how to talk about art. We were taught primarily by Michael Cassin, the Curator of Education for the Clark, an energetic (to put it mildly!) teacher whose love of the arts drives his passion for teaching. The Clark has a treasure trove of Impressionist art, as well as American, Medieval and European art, and collections of decorative arts and English silver (and a few sculptures!)

We also had other excellent tour guides as we took in contemporary art at MassMoCA, a new exhibit on Gerald and Sara Murphy at the Williams College Museum of Art , and several tours of art on view at the Clark. I loved the area as this view of the hill behind the Clark is typical. Lots of Berkshire Mountains around, too!
We stayed on the Williams College campus in Dodd House, which was adequate, but not heavy on amenities.


We also enjoyed 2 nights of the Williamstown Theater Festival, seeing "The Front Page" and "Villa America", both with recognizable actors from TV and movies, notably Nate Coddry from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Matt Bomer from Traveler, Richard Kind from Spin City.

I worked pretty hard during the docent classes: we looked at a lot of paintings and objects from all genres, and had to do group exercises and presentations. I hope I can practice what I learned and improve my "gallery talks." It was great getting to know some more docents-hopefully we can visit each other's museums and get some wonderful tours from each other!
This is a photo of Michael teaching-we spent almost as much time in the classroom as touring. The Berkshire Eagle did a story about us. I did not get in the photos or the article!

With a day or two on either end of this trip to visit with friends and family in the Northampton area, it was a great week!