Staff Training
Your needs are what I use to build experiences for you and your team.
If you want interactions—I call it making adventures—that incorporate play, surprise, or conversations that are hard, joyous, and necessary, I’m your best ally.
Browse some training session case studies.
Interpretation & Learning Departments
@ Art Institute of Chicago
creative professional development, new ideas, POV shift
GOAL: to reinvigorate creative practice for both teaching and interpretation staff; to see less-used gallery spaces in new ways
At the mutual request of Emily Fry (Executive Director of Interpretation) and Robin Schnur (Executive Director of the Ryan Learning Center), I developed a set of experiences to get museum staff in the Interpretation and Learning & Public Engagement departments thinking of new ways to teach and write about artworks in the museum’s permanent collection
Over the course of multiple workshops across several days, I used playful, creative prompts in surprising ways to encourage staff outside their comfort zones.
“This time together let me have fun with my work and have a personal experience of creativity while also appreciating my colleagues' uniqueness and creativity. I surprised myself by remembering how much I love creative writing and hearing my own voice emerge in playful ways. I’m leaving our time together thinking about how I can introduce more fun and play into my work, how I can push the envelope, even within tasks that feel straightforward or usually confined to a conservative approach.”— Interpretation department staff member
Call to Action
@ Guggenheim Museum
power sharing, listening, social justice
GOAL: to give visitors’ voices highest priority; to engage visitors in discussion about museums' role in the world
Museum staff gained professional training to listen to visitors’ answers to the question What roles can cultural institutions play in times of social and political change?
Museum visitors were empowered to share their thoughts on the role of museums directly with the staff.
“The biggest takeaway for me from this experience was the act of listening... the importance of ... being open to ... opinions regardless of your own... We need more communication that is free from judgment and mutually respectful. ”—staff member
One Hour, One Object Tours
@ Guggenheim Museum
slow looking, focused attention, deep engagement
GOAL: to facilitate deeper, slower looking for museum visitors
I trained paid museum educators to lead a weekly hour-long program about a single work of art for a guided exploration with focus and attention.
Educators began requesting to lead this type of tour and visitors returned specifically on Wednesdays to experience this type of gallery conversation.
“The one hour public education sessions ... prompted me to become a member. Being educated in so many formats on specific works, time periods, artists makes the museum so much more meaningful. I now look for these experiences at every museum and feel it is the most relevant and wonderful way to gain a true appreciation for the Guggenheim. BRAVO!”—museum visitor
Empathy Jam & Empathy Jam: The Reunion Tour
@ Museum Computer Network
experiential, empathy-building, co-leadership
GOAL: for conference session participants to have their hearts and minds tuned to the possibilities and complications of empathy and digital culture
At the 2018 Museum Computer Network conference, my team of collaborators created the Empathy Jam to invite thinking about how digital technology helps and hinders empathy building.
Attendees participated in a rotating series of exercises designed to build empathy and received physical zines.
At the 2020 virtual MCN conference, the same team re-formed to offer Empathy Jam: The Reunion Tour, in which we used digital tools to foster empathy remotely.
Museum Teaching Marathon
@ Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
playfulness, embodiment, experimentation
GOAL: to explore a spirit of experimentation and play with a group of supportive museum education colleagues
As part of the day-long Gallery Teaching Marathon organized by Mike Murawski, I facilitated a session that united my love of art, pirate experimental spirit, and lifelong dance experience.
Arts educators used Richard Serra’s site-specific installation, Santa Fe Depot and its environment to create found poems they interpreted through movement.
Are you ready to make an adventure?
(psst… you know you want to)
“Working with Rachel was refreshing in a dark and sad pandemic time. Whilst we adjusted to remote work and quarantine, I admired how she valued honesty and growth and encouraged our team to use the dark times to find some light. In Rachel, I found a colleague who understood how hard it is to get to the point where you cannot hide in the status quo. Working with her was unique because of her fearless and creative nature.”
—Vanessa Harvey, Educator & Translator @ Aspen Art Museum