Photo by Matt Cosby
Today our guests are Nat May, curator of the Portland Museum of Art’s 2018 biennial exhibition; Maine Medical Partners physician Dr. Stephen Hayes and Jennifer DePrizio, the director of learning and interpretation at the Portland Museum of Art.
Jennifer DePrizio is the director of learning and interpretation at the Portland Museum of Art. In this capacity, she strives to provide opportunities for all visitors to make meaningful connections with works of art. To achieve this goal, she focuses on developing opportunities that are learner centered, involve active and social interaction, tap into individual visitor’s motivation, and provide relevant context. Her particular interests are gallery teaching, effective training strategies, and finding ways in which experiences with works of art tap into core human values. Prior to joining the staff at the PMA in September 2014, Jenn was the director of visitor learning at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston for eight years. Previous museum positions include the Education Specialist for Public Teaching Programs at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, assistant curator of education at the Worcester Art Museum and director of education at the Vermont Historical Society. From 2008 to 2014 Jenn was an adjunct faculty member in Tufts University’s Museum Studies Graduate Program where she taught the foundation museum education course. She guest-edited and authored an article for the February 2106 issue of the Journal of Museum Education titled “Transforming Training: New Approaches for Engaging Adults.” She has also taught college level art history and museum studies courses, and is regularly invited to museums across New England assist in training gallery educators. She holds a B.A. in art history from the College of the Holy Cross and a M.A.T. in museum education from the George Washington University.
Stephen Hayes is a physician with Maine Medical Partners. He practices general internal medicine in Westbrook and is actively involved with teaching residents and medical students at both his Westbrook practice site and at Maine Medical Center. He teaches in the Maine track program, a combined Medical School Program between Tufts University and Maine Medical Center. He has taught clinical reasoning to the second-year students since the inception of the program. For the last two years, he and Dr. Jo Linder have brought second-year medical students to the Portland Museum of Art as part of their introduction to clinical medicine. Dr. Hayes has also been involved with the Literature and Medicine Program at Maine Medical. This is a program originally developed by the Maine Humanities Council, which utilizes discussions of literature to explore issues faced members of the Maine Medical Center community in their work providing care. He serves on the Hospital Steering Committed for this program. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Maine Humanities Council. He did his medical school and residency training at the University of Rochester and served on the faculty of the University of Chicago prior to moving to Maine
For the last two years, he and Dr. Jo Linder have brought second-year medical students to the Portland Museum of Art to work on visual thinking strategies with Jennifer DePrizio.
Nat May is the executive director and cofounder of the Hewnoaks Artist Colony, a retreat located in western Maine that encourages emerging and mid-career artists by offering time and space to work on their practice. He is also a board member and cofounder of Common Field, a national network of arts organizations and organizers who support artist-centered practices. From 2004 to 2016 he was the executive director of SPACE Gallery in Portland, a nonprofit art space, studio building, and grantmaking organization. He cofounded the Bakery Photo Collective, a not-for-profit darkroom and digital photo lab. He has served on the boards of the Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance, Portland’s Downtown District, and Creative Portland. He has served as a juror and grant reviewer for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, the Monhegan Residency, and Creative Capital.
