WEBZINE ACC

Guide for all of us

When I visit an exhibition hall, I often find myself sweating nervously in front of perplexing artworks. In particular, contemporary art often goes beyond visually reproducing common subjects on canvas and tends to express concepts, making it difficult, unfamiliar, and unfriendly for many people. I have considered that docents could be the ones who help navigate through these challenging pages encountered at exhibition halls. By receiving guidance from docents, when experiencing an exhibition, one has the opportunity to effectively delve into artworks through various forms of storytelling, such as explanations about the artwork and the artist's background. Especially in new forms of exhibition viewing, where various senses are utilized to experience artworks, docents who provide interpretation have become crucial facilitators who guide visitors through the immersive process of engaging with the artworks.

A docent is defined as a person who possesses knowledge and is able to explain artworks exhibited in museums or art galleries, while guiding visitors. The term “docent,” derived from the Latin word “docere” meaning “to teach,” originated in England in 1845 and later spread worldwide, starting with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the early 20th century. Even in Korea, docents have now established themselves as important figures that connect the artworks inside exhibition halls with the visitors.

Docents enrich the visitors' experience by making the exhibitions that may seem difficult and unfamiliar more interesting and engaging. They encourage curiosity and participation among the visitors. Docents go beyond simply explaining the artwork or the artist. They also understand the curators' intended concept and facilitate communication between the artwork and the visitors. They are able to respond to various questions from curious visitors and serve as a bridge to connect them with experts in specific fields. The role of docents as guides for all of us is becoming increasingly important.

Especially in contemporary art, where the act of viewing is shifting from “what to see” to “how it makes you feel,” docents have expanded their roles beyond simply conveying information. They now reframe the narratives surrounding exhibitions in their own language, breathing life into the artwork and helping visitors accumulate different experiences and interpretations within themselves. This way, they facilitate the accumulation of diverse and personal emotional experiences for the visitors. In simple terms, it means presenting the same piece of work in different stories through each performer's storytelling, in order to provide diverse experiences to the audience.

As the role of docents becomes more important and expanded in the field of exhibitions, there is also a growing interest in training docents. The Asia Culture Center (ACC) has also introduced its first “Docent Training Program” this year. From Mar. 22 to Jun. 10, the ACC docent training took place every Wednesday for a total of 12 sessions. The training program focused on ACC-specific docent education and covered topics such as basic theory, scriptwriting techniques, understanding Asian cultures, understanding and utilizing ACC collections, and practical training in exhibition interpretation.

The goal of this program was to train docents who can demonstrate professionalism and actively engage in ACC exhibition sites, such as the Asian Culture Museum and the ACC Creation Space. Furthermore, after the 12-week training, there was an evaluation process, and those who successfully passed the evaluation were given the opportunity to officially work as docents at the ACC. Due to this opportunity, the application for the program was highly competitive from the beginning.

During the training program, I participated in the “Presentation Skills” course, where they learned various techniques for effective artwork interpretation. Among them, although the basics and technical aspects of the speech were interesting, the most memorable story was about “content” and “communication.” It was a time that I considered the most important assignment for the docent was how to tell a story and engage the audience through their own unique way of storytelling using the same content (information). How to communicate and interact with the audience based on this story was something that I thought about and explored deeply.

One of the fellow graduates I met here expressed their impression, saying, “The overall educational curriculum was well-designed to train professionals, which made me highly satisfied throughout the course. Most importantly, I felt the power of art in fostering understanding, support, and the creation of relationships. Through this program, I am happy that I have taken a step closer to my dream of working in a museum or art gallery.”

The ACC is a place where you can frequently encounter artworks that are focused on visitor participation more than anywhere else. I hope to meet the people I met today again at the ACC Creation Space, where they can become proactive and professional exhibition guides who encourage visitors to have self-directed experiences.