SEATTLE ART MUSEUM: VOLUNTEER DOCENT Are you passionate about engaging with diverse youth audiences? Would you like to serve your community through the Seattle Art Museum? Are you interested in learning more about art? If so, please consider volunteering your time as a school-touring docent at SAM. SAM is dedicated to racial equity and strives for employees, volunteers, and interns who are passionate, qualified, and offer diverse perspectives. SAM prioritizes racial equity in the workplace because we know that people of color are the most impacted when it comes to inequities. We are particularly interested in engaging with historically under-represented groups in the museum field as we strive to be inclusive and equitable. SAM is responsive to cultural communities and experiences, and our strategic plan goals address the role art plays in empowering social justice and structural change to promote equity in our society.
Purpose: Docents are volunteer gallery educators who facilitate tours for school groups at Seattle Art Museum. Docents are a critical component of SAM's Education Division, supporting our mission to connect art to life.
Duties and Responsibilities - Serve as the face of the museum and reflect SAM's community. Docents are welcoming, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. Docents are committed to building on SAM's work in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Develop gallery education and tour facilitation skills, geared towards a K-12 audience.
- Engage students of all ages in connecting with art and practicing their own creativity.
- Complete docent training to lead school tours at SAM from January through March 2025.
- Shadow and/or lead school tours at SAM one day a week from April through June 2025.
- Demonstrate cultural competency when giving tours at SAM, thinking critically and creatively about honoring lived experiences and holding space for marginalized voices.
- Participate in regular training, attend lectures, and access resources related to effective facilitation strategies to ensure tours are engaging and accessible for all.
- Abide by the terms and policies outlined in SAM's Volunteer Handbook.
Initial Training Initial training for new docents will take place from January 2025 through March 2025. Training is slated to take place at SAM on select Wednesdays and Thursdays. New docents should also plan to attend monthly meetings at SAM with the entire docent corps on the second Friday of the month from 10:15am to 12:00pm. After successfully completing training, new docents will shadow and co-lead tours with experienced school tour docents for their first block of touring, which will run from April through June 2025.
Continued Training Docents have a passion for learning and training does not end once touring begins. In addition to touring, docents commit to attending monthly meetings and quarterly training. Additional opportunities for continuing education are encouraged. Examples include quarterly study groups, occasional lectures, and public programs.
Touring All touring docents are required to sign up for at least two touring blocks each year (September through August). Touring blocks are typically about 12 weeks in length, during which, docents lead two back-to-back tours once a week, every week. School tours are one hour in length, offered Wednesday through Friday at 10:20am and 11:20am. If you successfully complete your initial training, you will begin touring in April 2025. Centering equity, diversity, and inclusion as an organization, and as individuals, Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers enjoy a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming workplace. SAM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, caste, ancestry, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, status as a mother breastfeeding her child, presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability, political ideology, gender identity or expression, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status, use of Section 8 certificate, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other class protected by federal, state or local laws. Please contact the Human Resources Department at (206) ###-#### or [email protected] for additional information or to request reasonable accommodations for the application or interview process. Offers of volunteership are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check.
TO APPLY: Applications are only accepted through SAM's Careers Page. Please visit to submit your application materials and complete a volunteer questionnaire.
Deadline for Applications: October 18, 2024