Not surprisingly, many of AICs docents have been older white women who love art, have the time to be trained, and can afford to work for free. var i = cookieNames.length, }) if (window.jQuery) { var generalSettings = { How surprising could this move have been? Despite the lack of remunerationthey do this to be helpful and because they love arttheir training to be docents is extremely rigorous. $modal.find('.newsletter-signup-thank-you').fadeIn('fast'); While the elimination of docents struck many as sudden, it had actually been in the works for years. Many of those are in the Terms section, but I need to add a few. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune), Anyone with some tread on their tires whos been fired by email can recognize the protocol. In pursuit of 'diversity,' Art Institute of Chicago fires volunteer staff of mostly white women . The Art Institute of Chicago abruptly dismissed all of its docents. if (prefix == undefined) { However, thanks to their friendly and knowledgeable docents, I was able to quickly find my old favorites and discover new art and artists during each of my past visits. function initNewsletterSignup() { Obviously we should still keep an eye on what the paid educators are supposed to say about the art and in general, but its not on its face a sinister move. By then you know whats coming after all the disingenuous paragraphs: Youre canned, most likely in favor of a newer model. if (!o[this.name].push) { Volunteers are not covered by federal employment laws, so the wealthy white women who chose to serve the community for free out of their civic pride and generosity will be replaced with a new diverse group of non-volunteers, who will be paid $25 an hour to do be less trained and experienced than the docents just released. var initOuibounce = setInterval(function() { } Eps sculpture is junk type: $form.attr('method'), var script = document.createElement('script'); + '
' The letter, snubbing the young, Black female department director by going over her head to her boss, smacks of muscle flexing by members of the donor class. var ctx = this; $('body').on( 'click', '.close-signup', function(){ Rather than refresh our current program, systems, and processes, we feel that now is the time to rebuild our program from the ground up. } // Check if ouibounce exist before calling ouibounce Stein joins the Art Institute from Chicago's Snow City Arts Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring and educating children and youth in hospitals through the arts, where she has served as program director . They do not want to promote art appreciation but destroy beauty. The decisions of the last few years to end programs have been devastating- donations will suffer. All Rights Reserved.var w = Math.max(document.documentElement.clientWidth, window.innerWidth || 0), + '<\/form>' In addition, they spent countless hours with visitors and school groups, explaining the museums art collections. 5. } Theyre unpaid volunteers: not just any volunteers, but highly skilled and well-trained volunteers. Please try again later.' This is one more reason we should be wary of CRT and other racist philosophies spreading quickly across society. This makes me sad. The museum told the volunteers that it was making an effort to involve more demographically diverse voices at the museum. /** Docents, the kindly volunteers who give museum tours to school children, may not seem like a group prone to setting off firestorms in right-wing media. }; closeSignupBar(); Its a naked attempt to pander to younger voters by wiping out their college loans. Furthermore, retirees can describe works of art with the benefit of experience: They are more likely to know pain, loss and the chaos of change. Conservative-leaning media outlets framed the mass firing as an example of diversity and inclusion efforts gone too far. You would think cultural institutions would be happy to have people who want to donate their time to lead tours, greet visitors, serve as unpaid goodwill ambassadors, regardless of skin color. Just such a weaselly letter was sent out Sept. 3 by Veronica Stein, the Woman's Board executive director of learning and engagement at the Art Institute of Chicago. '