Agency history, 1987-

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Subject

  • Southworth, Gayle
  • Pierce, Lucia B
  • Williams, Ray
  • Eder, Elizabeth K
  • Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution)
  • Freer Gallery of Art
  • Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Education and Public Programs

Category

Agency History

Notes

  • This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
  • Smithsonian Annals, 1981-1997
  • Smithsonian Directory, 1999
  • LinkedIn, Ray Williams, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-williams-50498aa/, accessed January 25, 2023
  • LinkedIn, Elizabeth K. Eder, https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-k-eder-3345aa11/, accessed January 25, 2023
  • The first full-scale volunteer docent program, launched in 1981, served to educate the public through lectures by staff, leaflet distribution, and docent services. Gayle Southworth served as Docent Chairman, 1981-1983 and Docent Coordinator, 1983-1987. The docent program was the nearest predecessor to the Department of Education (though docent services still exist to the present). The Department of Education of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery was created in 1987. From 2007 to 2014 the office was known as Education and Public Programs. After that point it reverted back to the Department of Education.
  • Lucia B. Pierce was Director of Education from 1987 to about 1989 and Head of Education from 1989/1990 to 2000. Ray Williams acquired the position after Pierce and was Head of Education, 2000-2002. The Head of Education reports to the Deputy Director. Elizabeth K. Eder was Head of Education from 2013-2018.
  • The Department of Education seeks to enhance the public's awareness of and interest in the Middle Eastern and Far Eastern arts through many public programs, including film screenings, performances, and lectures; free pamphlets; and docent tours of the galleries.
  • For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520

Date

  • 1987
  • 1987-

Topic

  • Art
  • Art museums
  • Education
  • Art, East Asian
  • Museums
  • Museums--Educational aspects
  • Art, Asian

Form/Genre

Mixed archival materials

Local number

SIA AH00218

Full Record

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