YOUNGSTOWN — Excitement was in the air as 16 women and men prepared to give their artistic presentations to an audience of current docents and staff, marking the final requirement of becoming a docent at the Butler Institute of American Art.

The latest class graduated April 14, and each member of the class chose a painting in the Butler to analyze and explore for the assembled crowd.

When the presentations ended a celebration was held in Beecher Court at the Butler with a brunch for those in attendance.

WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A DOCENT?

Joyce Mistovich, who lives in Boardman and was an art educator in Boardman Local Schools, has served as the education director at the Butler the past eight years. She handles anything education-related in the museum, specifically as it relates to docents, tours and outreaches.

She defined a docent as “a person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art gallery or zoo.”

She went on to say that at the Butler docents are “extremely educated and well-trained volunteers who guide visitors to engage in artwork within the museum setting. … Docents are the face of the museum.”

The newest class of Butler docents began training last September, attending a three-hour class one day per week.

“I treasure the new friendships that I’ve attained through this new class of docents,” Mistovich said. “The most special part of my job is working with our outstanding docents. It’s the docents that make this place so special, they are the gems of the museum.”

The addition of the 16 new docents brings the number at the Butler to 66.

CURRENT DOCENTS

Iris Torres Guglucello of Youngstown has been a docent since 2014.

“Growing up, I went through the Youngstown school system, and we went on field trips to the Butler. We went on a tour in 1959 when I was in fifth grade and again when I was attending East High School and it had such an impact on me,” Guglucello said.

“I was so impressed with the paintings. There was one special painting, ‘Mrs. Knowles and her Children,’ that I thought was so beautiful.”

She is the former law director for the city of Youngstown.

“When I retired, I looked for someplace to volunteer. I wanted something in which I would have an interest. A friend suggested I sign up to be a docent and enroll in the class.

“I thought it was a good idea — it was an opportunity to learn about art and be around people who also love art.”

Jody Nudell from Liberty is a former art educator in Poland, Liberty, the Akiva Academy and at Youngstown State University, and has served as a docent since 2014.

“When I retired, the next logical step for me was to become a docent, it was a way of continuing to teach without the paperwork.”

As an art teacher, Nudell took her students to the Butler and the docents at that time became her friends.

“I did my own tours according to what we were studying in the classroom. I always had a good relationship with the museum.”

THE NEW CLASS

Andy Goske of Poland is a member of the newest class of docents. Prior to retirement, he worked at General Motors Corp. for 42 years.

He said that becoming a docent was “a chance to learn more about art and to give something back as a volunteer. It was a challenge to learn about different styles of art. “Every piece is so different,” he said.

Becoming a docent is “so far out of my orbit, it was my chance to do something totally different from manufacturing. It was a chance to broaden my horizons,” Goske said.

Lee Schwebel of Canfield represents the first time a member of the Board of Trustees at the Butler has also become a docent. Schwebel has been a trustee at the Butler for two years. He is also a trustee for the Schwebel Family Foundation and former vice president of marketing at the Schwebel baking company in Youngstown.

Schwebel said he is a “longtime art lover and museum visitor in the U.S. and around the world.”

He said that as a trustee, it is “incumbent upon me to learn more about art, to gain knowledge about the Butler’s collection, to know the history.”

Schwebel said he considers the Butler a treasure and said, “It’s like having a Smithsonian-type museum right here in Youngstown.”

It’s an honor to represent the Butler officially as a trustee and in a public capacity as a docent, he said. “Being a docent means that you can represent something greater than yourself. To those who much is given, much is expected. We must make sure that the Butler is an enduring legacy.”

MORE THAN TOURS

Mistovich is quick to point out that docents are active in several other ways in addition to providing tours. One of their most important outreach efforts is the Good Neighbor Program in which docents go into fourth-grade classrooms of Youngstown and Warren City Schools to teach categories of art six times during the school year. The students are given a tour of the Butler in the fall and then again in the spring.

“The greater the presence of art in young children, the greater the cultural enrichment will be as they grow,” she said.

Docents also head up the Museum Without Walls program by going out monthly to area assisted living facilities to share paintings from the Butler.

Dr. Lou Zona, executive director and curator of the Butler, said, “One of the treasures of the Butler Institute of American Art is its docent program which educates future museum volunteers. The program, ever-expanding under the direction of Joyce Mistovich, now sets the standard for docent training throughout the country. We could not be more proud of this remarkable program.”

REWARDING WORK

“The best part of being a docent is when people get excited about the artwork I’m showing them, when I teach them something new and they say, ‘Wow, I never thought of that,'” Guglucello said.

Nudell said, “It’s fun to see the kids get excited when they go through the museum. It’s very rewarding. Anyone who has an interest in art should consider trying it out.”

One handout given to all docents states: “If we’re successful in persuading our visitors that there are no wrong answers, that each viewer’s opinion is right for him or her, that some pieces will appeal and some will repel; if we send groups off eager to visit other museums, knowing that if they’re lonely in a strange city they can find welcome at a museum, then we’ve done our jobs.”

“The Butler is unique,” Mistovich said. “We have programs here that have been created for babies through senior members of our community. Our goal is to help engage babies, young children and school-age children with the artwork. The whole educational process must include art and we have the opportunity to impact the lives of children.

“The most special part of my job is working with our outstanding docents. It’s the docents that make this place so special, through them we can share our incredible selection of American art with the community at large.”

Other programs offered at the Butler include Stroller Art, Young Friends Adventure, Senior Art and Learn, and Family Days, all of which are led by docents.