18 / AMAM.OBERLIN.EDU HIGHLIGHT / GALLERY GUIDES CULTIVATING CAREERS After completing the Practicum in MuseumEducation, there are many paths Oberlin students can take as Gallery Guides. Two Guides, Edie Carey and Anka Chiorini, are interested in continuing their museum education experience—both at the Allen and beyond. Between the fall and spring semesters, Oberlin College has an academic period calledWinter Term, during which students have the opportunity to pursue their personal, academic, and professional interests through projects and intensive courses. Each January, 14 students participate in the Allen’sWinter Term course called Practicum in MuseumEducation. Taught by Jill Greenwood, Practicum students learn about the Allen and museumpedagogy in an experience unique to Oberlin College. Upon completion of the course, students can become paid employees of the museum as Gallery Guides. Anka Chiorini and Edie Carey (both OC 2027) took the course last year and have been increasingly involved in museumwork since becoming guides. “Museums were a big part of my childhood and education,” Carey, from Washington, D.C. said. “When I visited Oberlin before committing, I came to the Allen and thought, ‘I need to work here.’ It’s not common for a college, as opposed to a university, to have a museum as amazing as this one.” Chiorini also knew about the Allen and the Practicumbefore enrolling at the college. It appealed to her because she grew up living in central New York, without much exposure to art museums. “I wanted to get involved in public humanities andmuseums, so I applied for theWinter Term course. I became a Gallery Guide right after.” Carey recommends the Allen’s Winter Term to other students looking for a museum crash course: “I loved the pedagogy aspect of the Practicum, and seeing the behind-the-scenes jobs inside museums. I can now engage with art on a much deeper level.” Recently, the two Gallery Guides have been given roles creating content for the Allen’s social media accounts, supervised by the Education Department. “Being Gen Z, social media is just familiar,” Chiorini said. “Last spring, Edie and I made a social media post for the solar eclipse, writing image descriptions for some of the objects here. I enjoy it, and it’s a good skill to have.” Chiorini and Carey made a TikTok video promoting the Art Rental Program last September, and are thinking of more video ideas to garner a younger audience online. They are excited to continue sharing the things they love about the museum. “I want to find newways to showcase our digital archive to a wider audience on social media,” Carey said. “We have these extensive collections, and not a lot of people outside of the museum know about them.” Gallery Guides at the Allen have many other responsibilities and projects in addition to working at the front desk. Chiorini has given presentations at local schools and assists with cataloging and organizing materials for tours. Both Carey and Chiorini have given Object Talks, leading brief discussions on objects in the Allen’s collections that they have researched. “This experience has been amazing, and working here has given me direction,” Chiorini said. “I’m thinking about museum education as a career and continuing on this path.” Above: Edie Carey discusses Michael Boyd Roman’s The Smallest Giant Makes for an Easy Target (2023) with a visitor. Below: Carey records Anka Chiorini talking about Martine Gutierrez’s Queer Rage, Don’t touch the art, p. 68 from Indigenous Woman (2018) for use on social media. MIKE CRUPI
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