Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - August 27, 2015 ESMoA Educator’s Passion Pays Off Chelsea Hogan, museum educator at El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA), teaching a group of children about the latest exhibit. For story, see below. Photo by Nancy Peters. A Day in the Life of a Museum Educator By Nancy Peters Finding passion in a career is not necessarily an easy task. Some know, from an early age, being a member of a police or fire department or being a nurse or doctor or teacher is all they want to be. Many don’t know what they want to be when they grow up, even into adulthood. Chelsea Hogan took a few years to realize her life’s passion. Born in Syracuse, she grew up in Ithaca, a college town where her mother was a professor. Her father was an architect and art lover. Floundering after high school but resistant to more school, her mother urged attending Ithaca College. Her father counseled--at least one art history class should be mandatory for every college student. Chelsea found so much truth in her father’s advice. “I took that art history course and Bam! There I was delving into art, realizing how much I could learn from it. I had not been a lover of school, until then,” she related. “I followed my Bachelor’s degree in art history with a Master’s program at George Washington University (GWU) in D.C., which actually offers a Master’s in Museum Education. I was off and running. “I could combine my camp counselor jobs working with children and my love of art history into a career. It did take three years to jump into that next phase of schooling though. So, I worked in a local coffee shop. Former professors would come in, ask me what was next, but I would just pour the coffee, shrugging my shoulders, saying I wasn’t sure yet. “I did volunteer work with youth at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University in Ithaca. Teaching them made a light bulb go off. I found GWU’s program. It all made sense then—art, kids, museums. I knew ‘This is my calling—educate through art!’” While living in D.C., Chelsea became an Interpretive Ranger at a National Park Service Historic Site, the Frederick Douglass House on Cedar Hill in the Anacostia neighborhood. She guided children through the mansion, in which 90 percent of the objects belonged to the famed abolitionist. In that interpretive art space, combining history and art was a learning experience for all who entered. Also, a neighborhood charter school, where she was an assistant teacher, utilized Chelsea’s knowledge of the Douglass House to create a course about his legacy. Working at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery as a Staff Educator, Chelsea taught art history through portraiture. Her time in D.C. was interrupted when an opportunity at The Getty Villa presented itself. “I applied and a seven-hour phone interview with the Education staff led to being hired,” said Chelsea. “Working among those ancient artifacts, the beauty of that villa above the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, now that is a career goal,” she laughed. Chelsea’s communication skills make it easy to understand getting the job without meeting her. Her extensive knowledge of art and history and her unique, charming way, sharing that knowledge, kept her at The Villa for three years, before a layoff of those in the Education and Visitor Services included 33 other people during an economic downturn. “I learned so much about communicating art at The Villa, presenting artwork with the right words to draw people in to its significance. A curator at The Villa talked to me for 90 minutes about one vase! Incredible learning lesson that was,” she shared. In 2013, a former coworker who lived in El Segundo recommended Chelsea to two collectors planning a new art experience in a town near LAX. The place was not built yet. She had never heard of the town. El Segundo? Where is that? She was hired by Brian and Eva Sweeney to be a Museum Educator for their dream project. Originally called “El Segundo Museum of Art,” ESMoA was created to showcase the private, extensive, eclectic collection owned by the Sweeneys, publicly sharing art in a space created and designed by Eva, an architect. The shared passion for art with Chelsea Hogan caused her to be hired on the spot. “My job at ESMoA is a passion fulfilled. ESMoA is more specifically an art laboratory. We bring art to children and adults in experiences that change lives,” Chelsea explained. “We are open on weekends to share art with the public, but our main focus is creating programs that educate youth in the ‘classroom’ that is ESMoA. I helped create the school programs, with the other Education Specialists, and school children come to learn art at ESMoA. “We make the art accessible to them. We create excitement. They come back with their families on weekends. To be successful we had to know our audience, the families of El Segundo. I have become the ad hoc community liaison for ESMoA. ESMoA is in the Chamber of Commerce. I recently was appointed to that Executive Board. I am a member of Rotary Club which involves fundraising for youth programs. “As a new member of the El Segundo community in 2013, we had to learn fast about the town, the townspeople, and the audiences we were trying to reach. Now we take the art to classrooms and the children welcome me because they’ve come to ESMoA Family Days or other programs and they understand the experience. They are excited about art. “I am a Museum Educator! WOW! I took one art history class and now look at me,” she concluded with that infectious laugh. When Chelsea is not educating about art, she is utilizing her creative muscles as an Improvisational Actor with MIs (Mission Improvable): Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, where she resides and from where she biked to work in El Segundo for two years! She teaches a youth Improv class at El Segundo Recreation and Parks---ever the educator. “One thing I know—there is never a wrong answer. Know your audience. Listen to their question. Respond and make them feel understood! Art makes me feel great!!” • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................7 Classifieds............................2 Community Briefs...............3 Film Review..........................2 Food.......................................8 Hawthorne Happenings....2 Legals............................4, 6-7 Pets........................................5 Police Reports.....................2 Seniors..................................3 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 84˚/70˚ Saturday Sunny 81˚/70˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 77˚/66˚
Lawndale_082715_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above