Montclair Art Museum Issues Call for Volunteer Docents

June 4, 2013 - PRLog -- The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is currently recruiting Volunteer Docents to facilitate tours for pre-K–12 students and adults. Docents are valued members of MAM’s education department, who bring the Museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibitions alive for visitors of all ages. They are a vital link between the public and the art in the galleries and further the social and educational mission of the Museum. Applications for the docent program are due June 15. Volunteers who are accepted will have the rare opportunity to engage with the Museum’s exhibitions beyond the gallery, complete a comprehensive training program that deepens their understanding of art and teaching, and enjoy a camaraderie with fellow art lovers.

Joining the docent corps at MAM means becoming a member of a group of peers who embrace teaching and learning about art. “I meet people who love art and enrich my experience,” said Kathy Briedis, a MAM docent from Maplewood. The artwork exhibited at MAM is explored not only through thorough research but also beyond the immediate context of the Museum. Docents attend field trips to other museums such as DIA:Beacon and MoMA as well as guest lectures from artists, curators, conservators, educators, and scholars. Docents also explore the creative process and contemporary art. “It is a continuing learning experience. Aside from the art on the wall, we have special opportunities to do paper making, printmaking, pottery, and digital photography,” said Karen Radin, of Essex Fells. Exchange is at the center of the docent program at MAM: docents are not only teachers (the term docent is derived from the Latin word docere, to teach), but also lifetime learners.

To apply, send a letter of interest and current résumé to Petra Pankow, MAM Manager of Tours and Gallery Interpretation, at ppankow@montclairartmuseum.org to receive a Docent Program application packet. Applications are due June 15, 2013, and the new training session will begin September 2013. For more information about this opportunity, please visit montclairartmuseum.org. The docent training program is offered at MAM approximately every two years.

About the Museum

The Montclair Art Museum, a notable, community-based institution with an international reputation, boasts a renowned collection of American and Native American art that uniquely highlights art making in the United States over the last three hundred years. The collection includes more than 12,000 objects: paintings, prints, original works on paper, photographs, and sculpture by American artists from the 18th century to the present, as well as traditional and contemporary Native American art and artifacts representing the cultural developments of peoples from all of the major American Indian regions. The Museum’s education programs serve a wide public and bring artists, performers, and scholars to the Museum on a regular basis.

MAM’s Yard School of Art is the leading regional art school, offering a multitude of comprehensive courses for children, teens, adults, seniors, and professional artists. The Yard School was recently recognized in the Discover Jersey Arts People’s Choice Awards 2012 as the Favorite Place to Take a Kid’s and Adult Art Class.

The Montclair Art Museum is located at 3 South Mountain Avenue in Montclair, N.J. Information and directions are available on the Museum website, montclairartmuseum.org, or by calling 973-746-5555. MAM is open Wednesdays through Sundays, Noon – 5 p.m., and on the first Thursday night of the month (October–June), from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and major holidays. Museum admission is $12 for nonmember adults, $10 for senior citizens and students with I.D., and free for members and children under 12. Free First Thursday Nights and Free First Fridays are free for everyone. The Store at MAM is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and has extended hours until 9 p.m. on Free First Thursday Nights.

All Museum programs are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Vance Wall Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Museum members.