VOICE YOUR VISION!
GALLERY GUIDE PROGRAM
Now in its third year, The Tufts University Art Gallery Gallery Guide Program Voice Your Vision! is still a great way to experience our exhibition. It is a volunteer organization of Tufts students trained in current museum tour practices. We invite all members of the Tufts community to consider a tour of Gallery exhibitions with your class or student group.
Voice Your Vision!...
- can enhance your classroom, group, or team experience.
- is a collaborative process that builds group tolerance and effective communication skills.
- is a unique trans-disciplinary experience that is relevant to all students regardless of curricular focus.
- is about seeing not subject matter.
- empowers students through careful looking and observation.
- inspires creative and critical thinking.
- fosters critical dialogue on subjects both within and beyond the parameters of art.
Tours are designed using the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) technique. Rather than lecturing, Gallery Guides lead small groups (approximately 10 people) in conversations by asking open-ended questions that encourage close examination and consideration of selected works. VTS lends itself to spending 10-15 minutes before a single work of art. Rather than providing a comprehensive tour of an entire exhibit, guides introduce key works of art that touch on the major themes of each exhibit. VTS works equally well with children and adults, experienced art viewers and those who are less accustomed to arts settings. Each tour lasts about one hour.
BECOME A TOUR GUIDE
Any Tufts student (undergraduate or graduate) is invited to join the Gallery Guide Program. We welcome students from all majors. Museum or gallery experience is not a prerequisite. Students who are interested in gaining public speaking experience, learning more about art, or exploring careers in museums and the arts are welcome to join the program and participate in training.
Participants in the Gallery Guide Program are expected to attend initial training sessions and periodic refresher sessions over the course of the semester. Guides are expected to host a minimum of one tour per semester, but may be called upon to host additional tours as needed. While the Gallery Guides are a volunteer organization, participants are gaining professional experience and training at no cost, so it is expected that all participants will attend mandatory meetings and host tours when needed. During high traffic exhibitions or campus events (ie: Homecoming or Parents’ Weekend) it may be necessary to request that Guides make themselves available on an “on-call” basis. In these situations, Guides will be notified several days in advance.
Please contact Nina Bozicnik, gallery guide program liaison (nina.bozicnik@tufts.edu) with all questions about becoming a guide.
BOOK A TOUR
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm and Thursdays until 8 pm. Tours before 11 am on weekdays are also possible. Please contact Jeanne Koles, gallery outreach coordinator (jeanne.koles@tufts.edu) or by phone at extension 7-3094 to learn more or to schedule a tour. |
