Docent training...

When I signed up to be a museum docent, I did not expect that it was going to be very much like being a student again. Hehe!

Sure, I anticipated having to attend lectures every so often, but I did not expect that it was going to be very busy.

I have to admit though that I'm really enjoying it. I enjoy knowing more about the country and the people that adopted me. I enjoy being able to tell other people about Singapore's history. I enjoy being part of a museum.

I've written before that to be a museum docent was something I've always wanted to experience. I'm glad that I am able to do it now.

Most of the senior docents have been guiding for years! My mentor has been guiding for five years or so, I think. Another mentor I chatted with shared that she's been guiding for 14 (!!!) years. A number of mentors guide at the National Museum and in other museums as well.

Talk about passion and commitment.

Seeing how active the leadership of the different Museum Volunteers groups are is inspiring. Almost everyday, I would receive an invite to a talk about Singapore history/culture and about Asian culture/history as well. It's really exciting.

Last Saturday, I attended the curator lecture for the next special exhibit at the National Museum. Initially, I was just curious to attend the lecture and take note of information I can use for guiding at the Singpore History Gallery.

But after listening to curators Daniel and Szan, I really felt the urge to volunteer as one of the guides for the exhibit.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to write about it already, but I will say that the exhibit will showcase paintings by local artists. I wanted to volunteer because paintings are very close to my heart thanks to my late father. One of the things he really instilled in me was a love for the arts.

So even though I have yet to learn about local artists, I feel that I can contribute something being the son of an artist myself. My father used oil in his early years. When I was growing up, he switched to watercolour. Towards his last few years, he switched to oil pastel.

Yesterday afternoon, I dragged PG Boy to the library so that I can borrow a couple of books and start reading on local artists. While waiting for Next to Normal, I was reading through some of the books and taking down notes.

Hmm, I actually learned quite a lot in two hours - from the pioneer artists, the establishment of an art academy in Singapore, to early art groups in Malaya.

Really excited to guide for this exhibit. Woohoo! :)