THE HIDDEN HERO at the Georgia Museum of Art
Last fall, Georgia Museum of Art employee Wanda Moore accepted a position as a security supervisor after working as a gallery guide for two years. Looking after a museum is no small task. From managing visitors to keeping the grounds polished and maintaining each gallery space, there is a lot that goes into Moore’s job. While much of what she does goes on behind the scenes, every person who has visited the museum has benefited from Moore’s work. Moore was raised in Athens, Georgia, and has since moved to Comer, in Madison County, with her two teenage chil- dren. After being recommended by friends who worked at the University of Georgia, Moore decided to apply for a part-time gallery guide position at the museum in 2019, which turned into a full-time position and eventually led her to her current supervisor role. “Moving into actually being a supervisor of security, I love the idea that every day is different,” Moore said. “There’s not a day that’s the same. Every day there is something for you to deal with and figure out how to deal with it.” Being part of a work environment that allows for learning and growth is important to Moore, and life at the museum gives her just that. There are more challenges than meets the eye, and even though she has only been a security supervisor a short while, Moore has already used her position to help better the lives of those in and around the museum. Just recently after being promoted, Moore was checking the museum’s parking lot and found a person who was semi- conscious. Thanks to her attentiveness and prompt action, Moore was able to notify campus police and get this person the medical care they needed. Moore was recognized by UGA police chief Daniel Silk in an email thanking her for her thoroughness that “may have saved [the man’s] life.” Moore is also partially to thank for the well-kept exterior of the building. After noticing that the grounds outside the museum were looking a little unruly, she did a thorough job of following through with clean-up plans. “A guy came in and he came downstairs and he [said], ‘Can I speak to Wanda?’” Moore said. “And he kinda made a joke, ‘Are you the person that’s called 20 times about the landscap- ing?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that might be me.’”
Moore carries this determination and dedication into all aspects of her life. In addition to being a full-time employ- ee at the museum, she still works part time as a manager at McDonald’s, takes classes on modern technology through the Engage and Learn program at UGA and stays busy rais- ing her children. “It is [busy]! Leaving one job and going to another and then my children . . . you know, coming in before daylight, opening up everything,” Moore said. “[But] I love my job. I actually love it. I never saw myself being a part of security, but I absolutely love it.”
Wanda Moore poses next to “La Confidence” by Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau at the Georgia Museum of Art.
Among the things she loves about working at the museum is walking through the galleries and surrounding herself with art. Like many museum staff members, Moore has formed relationships with works that are personal to her. “My favorite painting is ‘La Confidence’ by Elizabeth Gardner,” Moore said. “It has so much history to it and it has Athens history. It reminds me of my sister and I, and I think that was the first painting that I wrote about that [the museum] put on Instagram.”
KathrinMerritt, publications intern
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