Tang Guides

Tang Guides are integral members of the museum’s front-line Visitor Services team. They greet guests at the Visitors Services Desk, lead museum tours, serve as roaming docents, and maintain the safety of the artwork on view.

The Tang Guide program trains every Tang Guide with a variety of experiences and assignments designed to help them gain familiarity with museum operations, comfort with speaking to the public, and insight into multiple approaches of viewing art. Their syllabus includes sessions with Tang curators, an introduction to Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) with Tang educators, practice presenting objects on view to their peers, and behind-the-scenes explorations of how exhibitions come together. Throughout their training, Tang Guides work in the galleries and put their newfound skills into action. Tang Guides also attend curator-led walkthroughs of each exhibition before it opens.

For Skidmore College students, the program provides an introduction to the Tang and to broader museum practices. The program trains them to be gallery ambassadors and tour guides. They gain valuable real-world skills interacting with the public and guiding visitors through experiencing contemporary art.

The Tang Guide program also includes members from the larger community, some of whom are artists themselves. These Tang Guides serve as the backbone of the program, mentoring students and creating an intergenerational cohort that works together on many of the day-to-day operations of the museum.

The Tang Guide syllabus includes readings from books such as: The Participatory Museum by Nina Simon; A Fool’s Errand by Lonnie Bunch; Teaching in the Art Museum by Elliott Kai-Kee and Rika Burnham; Creating the Visitor-Centered Museum by Peter Samis and Mimi Michaelson; and Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience by John H. Falk.

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Tang Guide Tours

Tang Guides offer tours throughout the year. Weekly tours are on Sundays at 2 pm. Tour for classes, community groups, and other groups are available upon request.

Explore upcoming Tang Guide tours.

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