Wang Xiaoguang

On the third and fourth day of the Lunar New Year, I volunteered at the Shenzhen Guanshan Moon Art Museum to guide the audience. Two exhibition contents, one is "The Life and Main Works Exhibition of Guan Shanyue"; The second is "On the Road - Contemporary Youth Artist Works Nomination Exhibition".

As a non art major layman, after only a brief training from my teacher, I never expected to be welcomed by the audience.

(Image below) Photos taken by other volunteer classmates while I was explaining. Classmates added: Teacher Wang was surrounded by a wall of people from the audience. Sure enough, I was surrounded by the audience in the middle and couldn't see.

Other volunteer classmates have provided feedback! They are also guiding the audience, but as soon as I spoke, the audience around them became fewer and fewer, and they all came to my side. Finally, they had to rest.

I was surprised! I really didn't notice. At the beginning, there weren't many spectators around me, and my voice wasn't high either. But as the crowd grew larger and more crowded, I was almost pushed against the wall, so I had to repeatedly remind the audience to "step back a bit" to avoid pushing me down. At the same time, the voice had to be raised to prevent the audience behind from not hearing and continuing to push forward.

Don't think I'm very proud. On the contrary, I am very panicked. Because after speaking a few times, there is no new meaning left. "Speaking three times is as plain as water.". I also hope to receive feedback from different perspectives. Fortunately, the audience was very cooperative and engaged, providing many ideas and opinions, and also having many different perspectives on the work. Thank you.

After sitting down for two days of service, I have some insights:

1. The audience is in great need of volunteer guidance services. The vast majority of the audience are non professionals, and without guidance, they can hardly understand. Especially for contemporary art works that are difficult to understand, they often lack clarity. So, at the beginning, the guidance I did was just to meet the demands of a small or individual audience. But as soon as he spoke, a large number of spectators followed him and continued to follow him until the end. After the tour ended, they applauded warmly.

But many viewers were unaware beforehand that there were volunteers who could serve and guide them. And we are also embarrassed to chase every audience member on site and cannot rush to request service. Because some viewers prefer to enjoy themselves quietly and do not want to be disturbed by others. So, in addition to observing the words and expressions of the audience in need, the service of volunteers also needs to strengthen the "guidance and gathering", making it clear to the audience that there are volunteers in the museum, ready to serve them at any time, and provide guidance for them. The "guide notice" pasted on the wall of the museum is not very conspicuous and cannot be seen by the audience. And we cannot convene loudly in the exhibition hall, as it will disrupt the quiet atmosphere of the art museum.

2. Although I received applause and gratitude from the audience, my heart was actually in panic. The more you talk, the more you realize your knowledge is shallow and your understanding of the work is far from enough. So, in addition to curators and teachers providing training for us, as volunteers, we must also do a lot of homework. For example, today a group of Chen Xiaoqing classmates gave me a lot of help. She searched for a large number of background introductions of participating painters on Baidu last night, as well as critics' interpretations of their works. After listening to them, I was very inspired.

For example, I really like the works of painter Yan Bing, "Zang Dao" and "Fen Tuo" (as shown in the picture below).

In order to accurately understand the significance of "potatoes" to the people in the impoverished areas of northwest China, I specifically Baidu the origin of "potatoes" and the role of potatoes in human history. I also think of the experiences and experiences of multiple business trips to Gansu, combined with my own guidance, which is very helpful.

Of course, these are still not enough. When doing guidance, it is also necessary to mobilize one's own experience and knowledge accumulation in order to learn from similar situations, deepen understanding, and provide more guidance and inspiration to the audience.

3. To provide excellent guidance services, in addition to introducing the exhibition itself and the work itself, attention should also be paid to the work of "starting from the beginning and ending". The so-called "head" refers to asking the audience about their understanding of Guan Shan Yue Art Museum before starting. If the audience is new to Guan Shan Yue Art Museum and is not familiar with it, before guiding the works, briefly introduce "Guan Shan Yue Art Museum". Do not start directly from the works to avoid "seeing only trees but not the forest".

The so-called "tail" refers to reminding the audience that there are other exhibitions and volunteer services on the upper (or lower) floor of the museum at the end of the work guide, and welcoming the audience to visit. Moreover, the exhibitions in the art museum are regularly updated, and visitors are welcome to visit regularly to see different works and enrich their spiritual life.

In this way, I am not just a volunteer for a certain exhibition, but also a volunteer for the Guan Shan Yue Art Museum. What I want to introduce to the audience is not only some of the works currently being exhibited, but the entire Guan Shan Yue Art Museum.

4. It is found that there are more spectators on the first floor and it is easier to gather them. As long as you speak, there will always be a large number of spectators gathering around. On the second floor, the audience of the "Guanshan Moon Perennial Exhibition" is relatively scattered and difficult to gather.

(Above picture) I did two guided tours on the second floor today, and there were only a few people from beginning to end. There was no increase in the number of people midway, and of course, there was no decrease in the number of people. I don't know why, or maybe it's because the contemporary art exhibition on the first floor is more difficult to understand, and the audience needs guidance more.

The family in the picture is listening to my guide on "Introduction to Guan Shanyue's Life and Main Works Exhibition". They are very attentive and have raised many questions. It can be seen that they are very happy, very happy. But later on, I also noticed from the photos that other viewers not far away did not join in upon hearing the sound.

5. Volunteering at Guanguan is very enjoyable. Happiness is what everyone needs. But there are many ways to find happiness, and you can even spend money to buy happiness. I think that when you bring happiness to others, the kind of happiness you experience is the true and eternal happiness. This is also the slogan of cultural volunteers: "Professional service, sharing happiness!"

In the museum, you can often see some professional and experienced professionals who often speak out extraordinary and have astonishing opinions.

The elderly person sitting in a wheelchair, with a few words and guidance, shocked me.

Finally, I apologize to the other volunteer classmates who were affected by me today! Due to the loud voice of my guide, I unconsciously snatched the audience around them. I am truly sorry!

I really didn't mean to. It's because, as the audience grows and becomes more crowded, I have to increase my volume. Actually, my voice is not very good, and I am never too loud. But objectively affecting the performance of other classmates, making them feel lonely.

I deeply apologize!