National Docents Symposium Council
Dedicated to providing an ongoing forum for docent education and the exchange of ideas since 1981
Interchange
Inclusion and Diversity Articles
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From the NDSC President, May 2019
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Our host for the upcoming National Docent Symposium (Oct. 24th-27th) is the Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler Museums of Asian Art. The Freer|Sackler is “dedicated to preserving, exhibiting and interpreting Asian art in ways that deepen the understanding of Asia, America, and the world.” Discover more about our host https://www.freersackler.si.edu/
Also, in celebration of the May event, Google dedicated its Doodle on May 1st to Ruth Asawa, a Japanese-American and California artist. As a docent of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, I am lucky to see and appreciate her work every day I come to the de Young museum. Asawa gave fifteen of her most significant sculptures to the Fine Arts Museums which have been prominently displayed since the building opened, in 2005. Come visit www.famsf.org
Let’s hear from you. Consider being a part of the Interchange to share ideas and experiences of our everyday practices so that we may learn and grow together.
Mina Shea, President, National Docent Symposium Council
Ruth Asawa photo by Imogen Cunningham ca. 1957
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More Docent News/Sharing Ideas and Experience
The Docent Handbook 2 - A Must Buy, See Why!
The revised edition of our popular docent handbook - The Docent Handbook 2 - is now available for purchase. This valuable resource for docents, guides and interpreters from museums and cultural institutions of all types in the US and Canada is a stimulating and informative "nuts and bolts" manual.
“this is not an academic treatise but rather a wealth of clearly-presented suggestions any docent can easily incorporate into their own practice".- Mica Meadow, Docent,San Antonio Museum of Art
Read more of Mica's remarks and find other customer reviews of The Docent Handbook 2 here.
For more information and ordering instructions, click this LINK
Recruiting Directors
Hazel Peach, Docent, Philadelphia Museum of Art; NDSC Director (February 2019)
The Directors of the National Docent Symposium Council (NDSC) not only are active docents in their respective cultural institutions but they are frequent and ongoing participants in the symposia over many years. They offer their insight from their experiences at the symposia and how the NDSC offers cultural institutions throughout the United States and Canada an excellent forum for the exchange of new ideas and best practices.
The NDSC will elect new directors at the 2019 NDSC Symposium. Read more from NDSC Recruiting Committee Chair Hazel Peach.
New Contributions (March 2019)
Many docents are adventurous travelers. We continue a series on docent travels to unique places and interesting museums with A Trip to the Twin Cities.
More Travel Stories from Docents: Malta: Scenery, History and Art; A Visit to Benin City, Nigeria
Find PowerPoint Presentations and Handouts at the Symposia menu tab above or click here
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NDS 2019 Washington D.C.
