Published January 28, 2019

Spotlight on the Bowdoin College Museum of Art Tour Guides

Meet the guides who welcome students and adults for tours of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Photo of two tour guides at the Bowdoin Collge Museum of Art

 

If you have visited the Bowdoin College Museum of Art within the past few years, you probably saw Karen Dyer, Cindy Guertin, and Dan Mocarski exploring the galleries, studying the collection, or leading groups through the exhibitions in educational experiences. Karen, Cindy, and Dan have been the BCMA’s dedicated team of tour guides for multiple years. These three retired educators have contributed to the BCMA educational and community outreach in invaluable ways, serving as vital members of the BCMA team that welcomed over 1,300 K-12 students and over 1,200 adults in tours last year.

Museums and art have been significant influences on Cindy and Karen throughout their entire lives. “My most vivid childhood memories are of times spent in museums,” Karen remembers, “My maternal grandfather was a sculptor and created the Native American exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. As a youngster I would accompany him to New York . . . and spend time in his studio.” After studying art history in college, and pursuing a career in elementary education, Karen volunteered as a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, which initiated her engagement with museum education. Cindy was an artist herself, graduating from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with a major in printmaking and receiving her MFA from New York University where she focused on computer generated art. Cindy taught art for over thirty years and was drawn to the BCMA through her positive experiences with docent-led tours at the Cleveland Museum of Art with her students. Dan, who spent his career teaching social studies and economics, described his exposure to art as a young man as being “more limited.” However, “[t]his changed,” he explained, “when we had an art instructor from New York visit our high school and the Social Studies class I taught. He used slides to instruct and engage the students with open-ended questions and encouraged their participation. Art became less remote and esoteric and stimulated a greater interest for me.”

Although art entered their lives at different points and in different capacities, the three BCMA tour guides are united in their passion for teaching, as well as their belief that museums have the ability to cultivate new perspectives. According to Cindy, “[a]rt and cultural institutions are so important because they offer a different way of seeing, learning, and thinking.” Karen agrees, stating that one of the greatest joys of the job is witnessing students “learn to look at the world in a new way.” The role of observation is central to Dan’s goal of “encourag[ing] [visitors] to look carefully and uncover meaning for themselves,” as well. He approaches each tour with two guiding principles in mind. The first is inspired by art historian, curator, and Bowdoin alumnus David Becker, who distilled the three most important things to do when considering a work of art: “look, look, and look.” The second is motivated by the words of a former colleague who stated: “It’s not what you cover, but what the students uncover.” Karen, Cindy, and Dan’s shared goal of guiding visitors of diverse ages, backgrounds, and experiences to develop their own interpretations and their own perspectives, grows from the tour guides’ own curiosity and desire to learn more.

Karen, Cindy, and Dan’s lifelong love of learning and teaching is foundational to the attentive and engaging visits they provide thousands of visitors every year. The BCMA is very fortunate to have their service and contributions, not just to the Bowdoin campus, but to the community at large.