Docent guides provide insight into SLAM’s program during its 60th anniversary

A common misconception in the museum world is that docent and gallery attendant are synonymous. While responsibilities vary by institution, the two equally important roles differ in their relationship to the art and the audience. Gallery attendants protect the art for future generations. Docents, also called guides, help visitors enjoy art in the present moment. SLAM docents lead drop-in collection tours as well as scheduled tours for schoolchildren, families, and adult groups.

This year, the Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates the 60th anniversary of its docent program and looks toward the future with a new cohort of volunteer guides beginning training next year—the first new class since 2014. SLAM currently has 54 active docents.

For more insight into the museum guide role, longtime docents Claudia Joyce and Monica McFee, both passionate about art and welcoming visitors, answered a few questions about SLAM’s docent program. McFee has been a SLAM docent for nine years, and Joyce for 12 years.

Learn how to become a docent by emailing ann.burroughs@slam.org.

Why did you become a docent?

Monica: I became a docent to make sure when people came here, they saw themselves. It brings me great joy to be selected for tours with people of color, or anyone who wants someone of color.
Claudia: My kids and I spent a lot of time in the summers going to museums. We all loved SLAM and attended many exhibits that my kids still talk about today. In fact, my son was in town recently, and he talked about the giant bags of spices that hung from the ceiling in one gallery. I knew this place was magical and ideas would stick to people’s brains without force. The art handed the beauty and ideas for free to an inner space in everyone that longs for soothing, for understanding. I guess I just wanted to be part of that. Also, another docent whom I worked with at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Gin Wachter, suggested that I might be a good candidate and encouraged me to apply.

How has the role of docents changed over the years?

Monica: The biggest change I can see is the interactions with public schools because their curricula have changed over the years. Now participating docents are trained for public schools’ criteria. For example, staff now preselects art objects for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum tours. And docents focus more on quality of engagement instead of quantity. This ensures more uniform experiences and post-tour discussions. So, everyone wins.
Claudia: Originally, the program was very strict; docents had to wear uniforms, take tests—they studied for years and were tested on all the galleries. It was super rigorous. We have evolved—there’s no more testing, no more uniforms. We want to avoid anything that puts a barrier between us and visitors. We’re also engaging visitors in different ways. Docents now ask people what they smell when they see a painting or what they’re hearing or what the temperature is. Engage the senses rather than just talking about the brushstrokes and the historical aspects.