Mint Docent Program
Create connections between a work of literature and the works in the Mint’s permanent collection.
After a brief discussion on the selected book, Mint Docents will present works of art in the galleries that help bring to life historic events, social customs, and lifestyles of the time period depicted in each book. You need not have read the book to enjoy the programs.
Join us for one of our public programs by registering at the calendar event below. Or, schedule a private program for your group or book club here.
All programs are 90 minutes.
Art of Reading offerings include:The Invention of WingsSue Monk Kidd’s pre-Civil War story presents two extraordinary women: one an urban enslaved descendant of Fon people of western Africa; the other a planter-class Charlestonian who evolves into a Quaker abolitionist and feminist. Discuss this Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection, then see selected works of art that bring the story to life.Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen’s classic tale of fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennet — one of five sisters who must marry rich — as she confounds the arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. Fans of this work will enjoy a visit to the museum’s Portals to the Past galleries to view pottery and porcelain from that historic period. Paintings and decorative arts further illustrate the period’s culture and lifestyle.The LacunaThe Lacuna is an epic journey from the Mexico of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. After a discussion, take a docent-led tour of Spanish Colonial and Ancient Americas galleries. See selected works of art that bring to life Barbara Kingsolver’s 2010 Orange Prize winning work.The Warmth of Other SunsIsabel Wilkerson’s book follows three individuals, representative of the 6 million Black Southerners who participated in the Great Migration to northern or western destinations. The Wall Street Journal’s review of this work states “Ms. Wilkerson does for the Great Migration what John Steinbeck did for the Okies in his fiction masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath…” After a discussion of the book, take a docent-led tour of selected works that enhance this work.