Over the last year, Deborah Sepulveda, manager of student and teacher programs, has been working with Seattle University (SU) faculty and students to develop a five-credit internship program for Fine Art students as part of the Frye’s Gallery Guide program. The Frye is excited to announce that this fall, we will start the first-year pilot of this program. Students will have the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience, develop research and presentation skills, and meet artists and Museum staff, all while earning college credit.

Conversations started over two years ago with Kolya Rice, former adjunct professor at SU, who inspired the idea and then set up meetings between interested students and Museum staff. The result was amazing. Although it was not yet a formal credit program, we had a group of dedicated students who ultimately gave seventy-five tours to K-12 students and adults. The new program has been developed under the leadership of Naomi Hume, assistant professor of art history, and Rosa Joshi, associate chair of fine arts.

Recent graduates Jillian Benson and Sarah Murray played a significant role in establishing this new gallery guide program during their junior and senior years at SU. Here is a snapshot of their experience, in their own words:

Why did you become a gallery guide?
Jillian: I became a gallery guide initially because as an art history student, I felt that I should become a more active member my own art community. I thought that becoming a gallery guide would continue to help advance my own education and would also be a great opportunity to share my love of art history.

Sarah: I began at SU as an education major. I saw the gallery guide program as an opportunity that would allow me to combine my interests in art history and education while also serving my community. Art Education seemed to be the best way for me to enter into the larger museum setting.

What have you learned?
Jillian: I have learned that viewing and discussing art work with members of my community is an incredibly rewarding and refreshing experience. In particular, through VTS, Visual Thinking Strategies, I enjoy challenging adults and students to develop a new approach to art that encourages the visitors to look at art with more of an emphasis on their own visual or aesthetic experience.

Sarah: I have learned that inquiry-based teaching is the best way to allow students to develop in their abilities to analyze and appreciate art. At the Frye we are trained to use VTS, Visual Thinking Strategies, to encourage students to learn how to look at art, support their conclusions with visual clues, and feel comfortable making decisions and judgments about bodies of work.

What do you like about being a gallery guide?
Jillian: I think that becoming a gallery guide has helped me to develop my own sense of self-confidence. Giving tours has really forced me to not only be more confident in my own aesthetic interpretations of works of art but also to be more willing and comfortable sharing those interpretations with others.

Sarah: I really enjoy interacting with students on a weekly basis; being a gallery guide makes me feel like I am helping to supplement the education of Seattle’s students in a very concrete way.

During this pilot year the program will be open to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors majoring in Fine Arts willing to make a one-year commitment. For additional information on the SU Gallery Guide program, contact the manager of student and teacher programs at (206) 432-8261.

The Gallery Guide program has been in place at the Frye since 1998 and includes adult volunteers of all ages. If you are interested in becoming a gallery guide but are not an SU student, click here.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 edition of FRYE magazine.