National Docents Symposium Council
Dedicated to providing an ongoing forum for docent education and the exchange of ideas since 1981
Great news! We have new dates for the next symposium!
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art invites you to Kansas City September 16-19, 2022. By then we’ll all be ready to connect with other docents, guides and museum educators from around the United States and Canada to be inspired by best practices and new learning.
Rooms have been reserved as a block for us at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Country Club Plaza. As you stroll along the streets of the first suburban shopping district you will be entertained by its open-air public art gallery. Enjoy discovering bronze and marble sculpture and, of course, our numerous fountains. The Nelson-Atkins is within a few blocks of this district.
Planning is in the works for Pre-tours on September 16. You’ll have opportunities to visit some of the premier cultural institutions by spending a half day or a full day exploring. See what is special about KC … its art, its collections, its sharing of history, its businesses. Everything is up to date in Kansas City!
The symposium will feature visits to some other institutions, a welcome dinner at the beautiful Nelson-Atkins museum, breakout sessions with the most relevant topics, and noteworthy speakers. Our evenings will include dinners at different locations throughout the city. When you depart the 2022 National Docent Symposium, you will leave with new friends, fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm for everything you do for your museum.
Kansas City often surprises with its charm, its cultural amenities and its warm welcome. Join us and find out for yourself!
Barbara Schoell 
Kathi Toombs
We are excited to be preparing for the National Docent Symposium to be held in Kansas City in September 2022.
As NDS Program Chairs, we cannot succeed without the contributions of our fellow Docents near and far. On May 1, we will be announcing a Call for Presenters, requesting proposals for presentations. Have you implemented a unique program, developed a successful approach to a current issue, created solutions addressing a difficult challenge? Consider participating in our Symposium by presenting at a Breakout Session or the Showcase of Ideas. Read more here.
As staff talents are redeployed at the Art Gallery of Ontario to develop virtual resources, support for the AGO's Gallery Guides has dwindled. Shelagh Barrington describes how determined Gallery Guides are keeping it together to learn and grow during their enforced time away from the galleries. Find it here.
Jennifer Doyle, former Romare Bearden Fellow, gives a gallery talk at the St. Louis Art Museum
Innovative programs that promote diversity continue to evolve. For three decades, the Saint Louis Art Museum has led the way with a Fellowship model that guides and supports aspiring museum professionals like Jennifer Doyle (pictured here). Now, in 2021 the Museum has published a sweeping report on DEAI and is preparing to host a digital conference to further the conversation. Read Bill Sitzer's report here.
In the fall of 2019, docents at the Dallas Museum of Art decided to create a database of information on objects in the Museum using Google Docs. Read about their project here.
Now available in two versions, digital and print.
For more information and ordering instructions, click this LINK.
Find PowerPoint Presentations and Handouts from the Washington D.C. Symposium and several past symposia at the Symposia menu tab above or click here
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