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2 people are interested
Guides for Gallery Hangouts
ORGANIZATION: Peabody Essex Museum
Please visit the new page to apply.
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2 people are interested
PEM Guides for Gallery Hangouts are volunteer docents who host drop-in programs throughout the museum, with a special focus on family groups made up of multiple generations. Gallery hangouts are "pop-up" programs offered for up to two hours at a time, located in a variety of spots to encourage surprise, fun, and discovery throughout the museum. PEM Guides invite audiences to connect with art and ideas using touchable objects, sketching and art experiences, games and challenges, hands-on discovery, and friendly conversation, helping to deepen and enhance the museum experience. Participants explore topics ranging from artistic processes and materials to cultural and historical context, creativity, and imagination. The Gallery Hangouts Team is one of four PEM Guide teams.
Responsibilities include:
- Completing an Initial Training program, concluding with a qualification process certifying the Guide to lead programs with the public
- Learn, practice and deliver a variety of Gallery Hangout experiences developed by PEM’s Education Department, including Gallery Spots, Art Investigations, and other drop-in formats.
- Attend monthly Team Meetings, participating in sharing, peer support and conversation about effective practice and contributing creative ideas to the ongoing development of Gallery Hangouts
- Participate in continuous improvement, self-assessment, and program evaluation processes led by PEM staff
- Use recordkeeping systems to track audience participation numbers
- Conduct preparatory research outside training hours to develop knowledge and keep up to date on new content
- Support PEM’s educational and interpretive goals and values, using interpersonal communication approaches established by Education staff
The Guides for Gallery Hangouts enjoy meeting and talking with people of all ages and backgrounds; are active listeners with excellent conversational skills, able to get participants talking, sharing and interacting together; show enthusiasm for sharing art, culture, and ideas with people of all ages and backgrounds; show respect for all individuals; have a friendly manner and find it easy to initiate exchanges; have strong observational skills and an ability to "read" people’s responses; are flexible, able to tailor experiences "on the fly" to match participants’ interests and priorities; enjoy helping audiences explore a select range of subjects in many different ways, such as storytelling, object handling, art-making, and game playing; work with staff and peers to continuously improve gallery teaching skills, using coaching, reflection, and self-assessment ; are reliable in fulfilling their commitment to the museum and its mission.
Commitment:
- A one-time Initial Training program consisting of six ( /-) 3-hour sessions covering basic program skills and content, leading toward qualification. Initial training is offered on both a weekday and a weekend day.
- Attend 3-hour monthly Team Meetings to learn new programs, explore content, practice activities and share ideas. Team Meetings are offered on both a weekday and a weekend day.
- Attend quarterly 3-hour meetings with PEM Guides from all four teams. Receive updates on museum activities, hear new exhibition introductions, and access other useful information. TheseInformational gatherings are offered in both weekday and weekend sessions.
- Service - Gallery Hangout programs are offered on Saturdays and Sundays, with some exceptions featuring weekday programs during school vacations and holidays. Active PEM Guides for Gallery Hangouts are expected to contribute 5 hours per month, usually in two shifts of 2.5 hours each.
To apply, go to http://www.pem.org/about/_employment/volunteer/ and download and complete the application and email it with a cover note indicating which team you are applying for, to Ellen Soares, Docent Program Manager, at ellen_soares@pem.org or by mail to Ellen Soares, Docent Program Manager, Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970.
More opportunities with Peabody Essex Museum
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Peabody Essex Museum
Location:
EAST INDIA SQUARE, SALEM, MA 01970, US
Mission Statement
The mission of the Peabody Essex Museum is to celebrate outstanding artistic and cultural creativity by collecting, stewarding and interpreting objects of art and culture in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind and stimulate the senses. Through its exhibitions, programs, publications, media and related activities, PEM strives to create experiences that transform people's lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge of themselves and the wider world.
Description
Founded in 1799 by America's first global entrepreneurs, the Peabody Essex Museum is a museum of international art and culture dedicated to connecting art to the world in which it is made.
More than a decade ago, the Peabody Essex began a comprehensive campaign to conceptually and physically integrate, interpret and exhibit the full breadth of museum collections for the first time in its 200-year history.
The museum also set out to greatly enrich and enhance all its programs. During the last several years, the Peabody Essex has ranked among the top museums in the nation for collection acquisitions through purchase and gift. The institution's $194 million transformation resulted in the creation of a new and major museum, serving people in Greater Boston, New England, the nation and the world. At its opening in June 2003, its facilities ranked among the 25 largest art museums in the nation. The suite of new galleries dedicated to changing exhibitions is among the largest on the East Coast.
The Peabody Essex has emerged as a new and different kind of museum -- one that creates a richer experience for visitors by bringing art, architecture and culture together in new ways, and by presenting art in the world in which it was made. Astonishingly, given the superlative quality and scope of museum holdings, the majority of collection areas had never been adequately exhibited. Most had not been exhibited at all. The Peabody Essex is now able to interpret its singular collection in ways that invite visitors to discover the inextricable connections that link artistic and cultural traditions, connections that have always influenced art and culture and that now characterize our lives in a global community. By presenting contemporary and historical work, the museum can help link the past and the present.
The Peabody Essex is one of the nation's major museums for Asian art, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Indian art, along with the finest collection of Asian Export art extant and 19th-century Asian photography. It presents the earliest collections of Native American and Oceanic art in the nation -- all collections of exceptional standing. The historic houses and gardens, and American decorative art and maritime art collections provide an unrivaled spectrum of New England's heritage over 300 years.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
East India SquareSalem, MA 01970
DATE POSTED
October 1, 2015
SKILLS
- Teaching / Instruction
- General Education
- Exhibition Arts
GOOD FOR
- People 55+
REQUIREMENTS
- Background Check
- Orientation or Training