We continue an occasional series of volunteer profiles. This week Shelagh Barrington catches up with long time volunteer Barb Keilhauer, a 27-year Gallery Guide.
What brought you to the AGO as a volunteer?
I was born in Brooklyn, NY of proud Dutch heritage. I have always enjoyed music, singing. I met and married a Canadian and moved to Toronto where I went back to school and received my B.Ed, with a minor in art history and then began teaching music. After children entered my life, I was interested in getting out and volunteering. I heard about the AGO Docent (now Gallery Guide) program and met with Elizabeth Topp, an AGO Education Officer who became my first mentor. Elizabeth had a wonderful ability to share her love of art education and bring out the best in our group of eight trainees. Our group included the wonderful Jack Carr, a docent who played the role of Mr. Chin, the butler to the Bolton family in The Grange. (The Bolton family owned and eventually bequeathed The Grange to the city as the first art gallery).
What were some of your memorable experiences as a volunteer?
Our visitors have always been my favourite aspect of volunteering. I absolutely love meeting the public, chatting and getting to know them as best I can during our tours. My goal has remained the same over the years: to share insights and art history with our visitors through welcoming, friendly conversation.
In 1993, the year I joined, AGO Director Glen Lowry (currently Director at MOMA) snagged the Barnes Exhibit. The Philadelphia Barnes Gallery had been looking for an additional stop before bringing the exhibition home, as their building renovations were far behind schedule. The AGO jumped in and on exceptionally short notice brought the exhibition successfully to Toronto. The AGO and the City of Toronto worked in concert to promote the exhibition. It became quite the cause celebre in the Toronto community, and it would put the AGO on a different footing in the art world. Over the years there have been many more memorable exhibits. Some of my favourites have been Yoko Ono, Edvard Munch, Barbara Hepworth, Helen McNicoll, Liz Magor…. Hmm, there seems to be a female theme here!
How has volunteering changed in the AGO Docent/ Gallery Guide program?
Being a Gallery Guide is just too good a gig. It is heaven, with all the great lectures and practicing our tours among peers. Over my 26 years as a Gallery Guide, volunteering has changed and adapted. Today I am much more aware of the importance of our role in our visitors’ experience. Also, Gallery Guides are now grouped into days and I am part of what has become a group of good friends in “Thursday Rocks.”
Covid-19 and the pandemic has temporarily changed how Thursday Rocks meets up. We use Zoom to continue our self education. We check in, catch up, and then one of us does a 10 minute educational dot on either art from the AGO collection or our own personal collections!
What do you do when you are not volunteering at the AGO?
Outside of the Gallery, I have worked with a private school doing archiving and design. I love to sing in my church choir, participate in amateur theatre, and I continue with my 30 year enjoyment of yoga. I have two grown children who join me on my tours, when they can and are now members of the AGO themselves.
I have been fortunate to attend several National Docent Symposiums: St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincinnati, and most recently, Washington DC, where I led a tutorial on the topic of Visual Thinking Strategies. The biennial Symposium, held in different cities around North America (the AGO hosted in 2009) is a fabulous opportunity to meet Docents / Gallery Guides from all over North America and take home ideas for sharing.
Thanks, Barbara, for sharing your story !
–Shelagh Barrington, Gallery Guide