Student Guide Program Offers Fresh Perspectives on Museum’s Collection by Rachel Palmer, public relations intern
This past year, the Georgia Museum of Art launched a brand new initiative that puts students in the spotlight. The student guide program gives University of Georgia undergraduate students the chance to lead public tours of the museum’s permanent collection, focusing on a few artworks or objects they personally connect with. These “Student Perspectives” tours are a fresh, student-driven way to experience the museum, and they’re already making a big impact. The student guide program started in fall 2024, replacing the museum’s student docent program. The goal was to give students more ownership in how the museum connects with the public and to create more opportunities for meaningful campus involvement. Student guides are paid, and any first-, second- or third- year student can apply through the museum’s website when applications go live in the summer. The first year’s cohort included students from all over campus, with majors ranging from art history to genetics, Russian, education and studio art. Students accepted into the program meet weekly throughout the fall and spring semesters under the supervision of Alexis Gorby, the museum’s new associate curator of academic and campus engagement. In the fall, they dig into readings on how to structure a themed tour, how to spark conversations with open-ended questions and how to connect their research to real- world audiences. Each student picks four pieces from the museum’s collection that are currently on view in the galleries to focus on by researching and writing short reports. By spring, meetings shift to focus on practicing
tours and receiving feedback, covering everything from where to stand in a gallery to how to explain something like cubism in a simple, clear way. Seven students joined the program in its inaugural year: Brecklyn Rae Brown, Beth Coleman, Jocelyn Kirchen, Caroline Parillo, Chelsea Persad, Natalie Marie Schott and Maribeth Smith. Each participant gave two weekend tours in March and April, and feedback from visitors was incredibly positive. Some guests have said the student- led tours made them more likely to return to the museum. One even responded in a visitor survey that they learned “abstract art doesn’t suck.” Another said that they gained a “greater appreciation of the decorative arts.” The tours seem to be changing how people experience and relate to art, which is the point. Brecklyn Rae Brown, a social studies education major at UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, joined the program to get more experience in the museum field. “I have taken a few museum studies courses at UGA and am interested in a museum-related career,” she said. “Joining this program was a great way to pursue my interests and get hands-on experience working in a museum setting.” For her tour, Brown focused on objects that show visible signs of wear and tear, using them to explore how everyday items can tell stories about the past. Her object list included an armchair from the Huger family of Charleston, South Carolina; a turned chair by an unidentified maker from Walton County, Georgia; a baker’s cabinet by Hilliard L. Edwards; and a storage jar by David Drake. “The theme of my tour is ‘Art’s Wear and Tear,’ and it highlights how objects can tell stories through their usage,” she explained. “I chose four household objects — one with minimal damage and three that show heavy signs of use. I show guests how to look for signs of wear and
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