Docent Remix: Profiles of Art Museum Docents in the Modern Museum

Abstract

<bold>Abstract</bold> Museum scholarship has focused on the critical self-evaluation museums have undergone in the last century that has lead to a transformation of the museum paradigm. By shifting focus from operating as what some might argue as myopic collecting institutions to the visitor experience of the museums content. Focusing on the visitor experience has given museums an opportunity to become better acquainted with the communities they serve through perusing innovative ways to involve and collaborate with their constituencies. Art museums rely heavily on docents to act as interpreters of museum content shortening the distance between the institutional intent, artworks and the museum visitors. There has been a considerable amount of the research done on how art museum visitor's benefit from guided tours presented by art museum docents. Yet, there is still little research on the perceived motivations, barriers and contours of experience of docents actively participating as museum educators in art museums today. This research looked at the motivations, perceived barriers and contours of experience of art museum docents through four profiles of art museum docents serving in the modern museum. This research found that individual art museum docents cite different specific motivations for becoming art museum docents. The motivations cited by respondents of this study were; a love of art, an enjoyment of being in social environments, valuing life-long learning, and seeing themselves as people who have the skills necessary to facilitate engaging educational experiences using art objects. From this research art museum docent program administers will be better able to recruit enthusiastic and diverse individuals to serve as art museum docents to meet the educational goals in the 21st century. <italic>Keywords:</italic> Art Education, Docents, Volunteer Motivation