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The Docents of the Art Museum of WVU

Docent Alison Deem with museum visitors

It’s hard to believe that we will soon celebrate the five year anniversary of the opening of the Art Museum of West Virginia University. It had been a dream for so many people, for so long.  

More than 7,500 K-12 students have visited the museum and each and every one has interacted with the museum’s unsung heroes, our team of treasured docents.

“Docents are much more than volunteer educators, they are essential to the Art Museum’s mission,” said Director Todd J. Tubutis. “They are passionate ambassadors dedicated to expanding a student’s education by inspiring creative thought through visual learning.”

Docents are trained volunteers that learn the museum’s collection and exhibitions so that they can pass on that knowledge to each visitor. Without our docents, the museum simply could not provide free, educational programming in large capacities.

“My appreciation of the art museum grew with every training we received as docents and every group I guided,” Cindy O’Brien said. “Being a docent was also rewarding educational experience because of the interactions with and observations from visitors who shared their perspectives and questions.”

Docent with museum visitors

Docents come from all walks of life - professors, medical professionals, and homemakers are just some of the professions of our docents.

“It was remarkable for me to be in the original class of docents because my background is STEM,” George Trapp said. “However the wonderful staff - Heather, Bob, Joy, Bernie - taught me how to better appreciate and enjoy art and with fellow docents pass that enjoyment on to others.”

With your support, our staff and docents will continue to serve students, our community, and the state, through life-changing educational exhibitions and programming.

“I think one of the most interesting aspects of being a docent has been how the kids have taken to the art in the museum, no matter if it's representational, abstract, two- or three-dimensional,” Alison Deem said. “Some of these kids have never been to an art museum before but they find ways to relate to the art, to look and talk about what they see and hopefully become curious about a world outside of what they know.”