Gallery Guides are trying something new, to help our visitors enjoy the Frida & Diego exhibition to the fullest – not specialized tours, but stay-in-one-spot discussions.

Interested visitors come to the 5^th room of the exhibition (at 2 or 3 p.m. each weekday or 11 a.m. on weekends), where a Gallery Guide leads the group in a facilitated discussion. Off-duty volunteers are also welcome, of course, just identify yourself to the GG ahead of time as a courtesy.

Recently Joan Heeler and Ann Wilcox, daytime GGs, relaxed in the Volunteer Lounge and talked about their experience with this innovation – Joan who had just led a discussion, and Ann who had shadowed her in preparation for starting to lead them herself.

The format offers both challenges and opportunities, they agree. The challenges are born of the show’s great success: so many people! “We have other visitors walking through while we’re talking with each other, so it can be distracting,” says Joan.

Even so, group members get very involved. “People are fascinated by the relationship between Frida and Diego, so they want to hear more,” notes Ann.

Joan responded to that fascination in her presentation, bringing out details such as Diego’s own background, the story behind Frida’s painting of “Little Nips,” and the fact that in their lifetimes Diego was much more famous, whereas now Frida is at least as famous herself.

“This approach is something new for us,” says Joan, “and I think it offers some interesting possibilities. For example, when you’re not leading people from picture to picture and focusing on the artwork in front of you, you have more flexibility in what you talk about. That can lead to more wide-ranging discussion, and more participation.”