I’m excited, and sad, to forward this announcement. The MFA runs a paid program for a few graduate students per year to give tours in the galleries. For the past year, I’ve been one of these lecturers. The program is a fantastic opportunity to work not only with a diverse and fascinating set of visitors but also with two incredible educators, Brooke DiGiovanni-Evans, Head of Gallery Learning and Barbara Martin, Barbara and Theodore Alfond Curator of Education.

Here’s an excerpt from Brooke’s letter, with the full application packet attached here.

Each year the Museum of Fine Arts provides the opportunity for graduate students at Boston-area universities to be lecturers in the Museum’s program of gallery talks for adult visitors. Gallery talks focus on aspects of the permanent collection or special exhibitions and are given on a regular schedule by curatorial and education staff, guest speakers, artists and graduate students.

The Graduate Student Gallery Talk Program has proved very rewarding for the Museum, its audiences, and the graduate student lecturers. It allows us to increase the number and variety of talks available to adult visitors, and it gives students a unique opportunity to explore the pleasures and challenges of teaching from original objects. The program includes discussion of teaching methods and observation and evaluation of talks by Museum education staff. Students who may become professors, critics, curators, or museum educators gain important insight into the workings of a major museum and the interests and needs of the general public. Past graduate students have commented on how valuable the program has been in learning more about the objects within an encyclopedic collection, building public speaking confidence and teaching skills.

Students participating in 2014-2015 will be paid a stipend of $2000 for the academic year, during which time they will give two talks per month (one topic each month, repeated).

If you are interested in learning more about this program, I invite you to attend an informal meeting at the Museum on Thursday, March 27, at 4 pm in the Druker Family Pavilion, classroom 159, 1st floor. floor. Please let me know if you are planning to attend. If you are unable to attend the meeting, feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

Brooke can be reached at bdigiovannievans[at]mfa.org. I’m also happy to talk to anyone about the program. You can email me at phillippa.pitts[at]tufts.edu. We’ll both be at the info session to answer any questions you have!