The North Carolina Art Museum and the power of a Docent

I just had the privilege of visiting the newly renovated and redesigned North Carolina Museum of Art and it was an experience like none other. I absolutely love museums; art museums, history museums, science museums, kids museums; I love all of them. I have been known to spend and entire long weekend in New York doing nothing but going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art four days in a row. But this visit was a new experience for me. Our MAT class went for a tour with a retired teacher and Meredith alumna. It was the coolest and most education trip to a museum that I have ever had. She was able to give us more information on each piece of art, its owner, the history of its trip to be in the museum and the many ways we could use these pieces of art to teach our students. It was a truly remarkable experience to listen to someone who knew so much more about each piece of art than the little plaque on the wall next to it. I have a true appreciation for so many of the pieces in the NCMA collection. I think that the most touching story was about the artist who created the statue Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian. The artist, Michael Richards, was killed on 9/11 in the twin towers. His statue of a Tuskegee airman from WWII being hit by air planes was commissioned by NC for the 2001 First in Flight Celebration, but Michael Richards was killed prior to the celebration beginning in October of 2001. This piece sits in the center of one of the museums open rooms with no large explanation or background story anywhere around for a visitor to simply read. We learned the story of this statue because our amazing docent shared it with us. After experiencing the power of this knowledge, I can not appreciate the art and all of those who study and share their knowledge with the public even more. I hope to be able to return to the NCMA soon and see even more of its amazing collection, but I think that without a docent, I will not be able to fully grasp the true impact of the place. I am really excited to share this experience with students one day, and hopefully the background information and interesting stories will help bring the art to life for them as well.