Hope McMath is the director of education at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.
WHAT DO YOU DO AS EDUCATION DIRECTOR?
“Basically, I help design, implement and oversee all of the educational initiatives for the museum. We have a core of about 35,000 students that we take on tours of the museum annually. I also help oversee the volunteer programs and all of the outreach programs, whether in schools or local festivals. I run an arts and health care program where we take the arts and go into local medical facilities to work with patients at the bedside or in groups. I spend a lot of time lecturing, teaching and writing.”
EXTRA SPECIAL EFFORT
“I’m the site director of Very Special Arts. It’s like the Special Olympics for the arts. The local site is now based here in the Cummer. We serve about 12,000 people annually through those programs for children and adults with disabilities. It’s really changed the mission of the museum.”
HOW HAS SERVING THE HANDICAPPED CHANGED THE MISSION?
“Museums are more and more having to become like community centers. It used to be, ‘Put up the art and they will come.’ Then we realized to make art relevant to all segments of our society, you have to be a little more creative with your programming. Individuals with disabilities have historically had a hard time gaining physical access to places like a museum. To understand historical art, you also have to get your hands on making art yourself and be involved in the creative process. People learn, in a fun way, how to interpret art.”
WHAT OTHER PROGRAMS ADDRESS UNIQUE MARKETS?
“We’re now doing a series of cafe nights where we’re trying to open up to a broader audience by providing lectures, music and food that tie in with a theme. Our collection deals with art from the last 4,000 years so a lot of people have a hard time finding a personal connection to it. The concept is giving people multiple ways to engage the art hanging in a museum. The main mission from an educational standpoint is to interpret and make relevant the art that hangs on the walls here. The idea of building visual literacy is very much what we’re about. And it spills over into other areas, too. For my parents, generation, art museums were not thrilling places to go. They were very serious, pretty dry and often intimidating. Our job is to make it fun and meaningful.”
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DIRECTOR?
“For two and a half years. I’ve been at the museum for eight and a half. First, I was a part-time museum educator, then a full-time art historian and then the assistant director of education.” Prior to the Cummer, McMath worked as a graphic designer for three years.
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING FOR YOU?
“The great thing is that [my job] combines my love of making art with my love for art history. I get cranky if I’m not creating. The most rewarding moments are those virgin experiences — that eureka moment for those who have never had art in their life. You see art as being more than the end product. It can be very transforming for people. Each one of those moments gives you the drive to keep going.”
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
EDUCATION
A Jacksonville University alumni, McMath earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art and master’s degree in arts and teaching.
THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS (OR PRINTS) TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER
McMath and her husband Barry Wilson are artists employing the printmaking medium. They have a studio attached to their Avondale home that rivals the size of the house. Wilson also teaches at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
WHAT SORT OF PRINTS DOes she MAKE?
Woodcuts, etchings and artist’s books (hand-made books with original writings and images). Recently, McMath was awarded a grant from the Community Foundation to continue her artist’s books.
WHY CHOOSE THIS MEDIUM?
“When I was in school, I did the traditional painting and drawing. In my last semester I took a print making class and loved it. It’s a very earthy process. It makes you less precious. I like to share my art.”
WHERE do you get YOUR INSPIRATION?
“Most of my subjects are from cultural history. I’ve done a series depicting the female body throughout history. A lot of my prints combine images with text. My books deal with objects and how they were used symbolically throughout history.”
DO YOU HAVE AN UNDERLYING MESSAGE?
“If I was going to say something, it would have to do with how art is so universal. You can get something out of it regardless of the baggage you bring to the table. Knowledge and beauty are universal concepts.”
WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCE?
“As far as the medium of print making, the artist who had the greatest influence was Kathe Kollwitz, a German artist of the early 20th Century. She filled the streets with anti-war images and images of women’s tribulations. My work doesn’t necessarily look like hers but I do study her work and read her journals.”
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN ART?
“I always did art at home. Even early on, I have memories of craft paper, paint or chalk. I always knew the arts would be a part of what I would do.”
WHERE HAVE YOU HAD EXHIBITS?
“I’ve participated in group juried shows all over, from Arizona to Ohio to Kentucky. I was in a show at the JU gallery and I’ve exhibited in Georgia, South Florida and at most venues in Jacksonville.”
THE PERSONALS
When she’s not at the museum or in her studio, McMath is kayaking almost every weekend. She also enjoys dining at Biscotti’s, reading about British history and traveling to London.
— by Monica Chamness