A contingent of eight AGO volunteers headed to Montreal October 14-16 to take part in the National Docent Symposium, a biannual conference by and for docents across North America.  Shelagh Barrington reports on Day Two:

Keynote Address

After a good buffet breakfast it is time for our leader Stephan Jost to shine as the keynote speaker and he makes us very proud!

He talks from the hip because he understands what it takes to make us not just good but a leader in our fields: great art, access and learning! Stephan reminds us of the importance of the Gallery Guides’ place in assisting our guests make connections with both historic and contemporary art and today’s events. He shows us great art by artists he feels require better recognition, through exhibitions and acquisition: Dianne Arbus, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Francis Alys, Rita Letendre, Robert Houle and Brian Jungen.

It’s a great moment for the AGO. A room filled with American symposium participants from some of the largest art institutions in North America acknowledges and responds to Stephan’s expertise, his challenging ideas and casual but intense delivery.

 

Break-Out Sessions

Among many divers adn informative session, AGO’s own Mary Rochon’s Saturday morning presentation: Providing Access to Visual Art for People Without Sight, ably assisted by fellow AGO GGs including Fran Bleviss, goes exceedingly well. Mary’s take:

It was a year ago this Sept. that my proposal for a Breakout Session was accepted by the NDS team. Apparently the idea of presenting Art to persons without sight through a “Performance ” was rather unique. Firstly listen to a description of the work….. and then experience  your partners face through touch. now create your own interpretation of a portrait with magic clay . This was done with volunteer “role players” who were blindfolded.

Here Mary is congratulated by NDS 2017 Montreal Managing C0-Chair Grace Powell:

Congratulations on a job well done!

Next week: Highlights from our various attendees