Interview: Meet Tim Brown of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art

I had the great fortune to grow up and spend most of my life in the Washington, DC area. That meant I had easy access to the Smithsonian museums including the Natural History Museum and the Freer as well as the National Gallery of Art.  Other museums that have been important to me as an adult are the Corcoran, the Phillips Collection, the Sackler, the Hirshhorn and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. 

Not everyone lives close to an art museum.  My current media development work is very focused on giving children all over the world access to great museum collections via the iPad.  Part of my app development research is to network with museum educators to learn about their museums, how they interact with kids and how they use technology.

The Rotunda at the National Gallery of Art. 
This room and fountain were very impressive to me as a child. They still are.

I learned about Tim Paul Brown when I read a review he wrote in the iTunes Store for the new MOMA app, MOMA Art Lab. He provided enough information about himself in the review that I could figure out where he worked. Tim actually also did a video review of the MOMA app on his MyApplePodcast series. What particularly interests me about Tim and his work as an arts educator, is his interest in technology.


Tim works at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art in Montgomery, AL. I learned about the museum from their beautifully designed website. They even have a separate site for their docents. Tim has been kind enough to tell us more about his work and interests in this interview.


iArt4Kidz:
Tell us a little bit about the set of experiences that lead you to work in museum education.


TB: 
I decided in my early thirties to return to graduate school and major in museum education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The program helped to establish a specific path for my career.

iArt4Kidz: 

What was the most innovative event/activity that you have orchestrated to get families into your museum?

TB: 

Most of the museums I have worked offer free admission. I wouldn't call that innovative, but it's a major factor in bringing families to the museum. Throughout my career, I have featured two to three major family day events  a year that involve a variety of experiences from studio activities, gallery guides and scavenger hunts, live performances, face painting, outdoor activities, chalk drawing, etc. They are generally marketed as "Family Fun Days" or coincide with a special holiday like "Military Open House." These events encompass all public areas of the museum and involve a lot of planning, and assistance from volunteers. In general, the events are thematically structured to coincide with a special exhibition or the permanent collection.

iArt4Kidz: 

What is your favorite part of your job?

TB:

I enjoy working with original works of art and I love teaching in an informal learning setting. I also love coming to work everyday and being surrounded by art.

iArt4Kidz: 

In a perfect world, how would you see your community interacting with your museum?

TB:
Ideally, as an educator, I would like to see more touchscreen interfaces throughout the museum. I perceive this as a direction society is moving in and museums will have to keep pace with how contemporary audiences learn and experience the world. In art museums, the visitor cannot touch artworks, so a complimentary experience will help strengthen and sustain the community's interest in the collection.

iArt4Kidz: 

What have been the most helpful tools in engaging children with the MMFA collection?

TB:

The ARTWORKS Family Interactive Gallery is the most effective way to engage children with the collection at MMFA. ARTWORKS consist of two galleries with a variety of installations to engage children about topics related to the Museum's collection, including touchscreen kiosks and computer stations, 3-dimensional dioramas based on paintings in the collection, and displays that address topics, such as printmaking, drawing, math, perception, diverse cultures, portraits, etc. The space also includes a special learning gallery for children pre-k and under. ARTWORKS also includes an exhibition gallery for students, which features student exhibitions throughout the year. 

iArt4Kidz: 

Tell us about 2 or 3 works of art that keep you inspired.

John Singer Sargent's Mrs. Louis E. Raphael, George Inness's Medfield and  Edmonia Lewis's Hiawatha's Marriage (the last two are recent acquisitions). Sargent is known for his virtuosity as a painter and our portrait is one of his finest. 

Inness was a masterful19th century landscape painter who imbued his paintings with a spiritual dimension. His painting of Medfield transcends time and space. Edmonia Lewis was an artist of African and indian descent who managed to transcend racial and gender barriers by becoming an accomplished neoclassical sculptor.

iArt4Kidz:
What is your favorite iPad art app for kids and adults?


TB:
My favorite art app for kids is Doodlecast for Kids by zinc Roe. My favorite app for adults - that's a hard one. Sketch Club and Sketchbook Pro immediately come to mind. My favorite museum apps are MOMAArtlab and Design Museum.

iArt4Kidz:
Does the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art use iPads?


TB:

We currently use 4 touchscreen monitors in the interactive gallery space by Elotouch (w/mac minis). We are planning to purchase 14 iPads for the next fiscal year (beginning this fall). 4 will be used for docent training and tours and 10 will be used for studio classes with a technology emphasis.

iArt4Kidz: 

Anything else we should know about you or MMFA?

TB:
I have a special interest in new media and technology. I host a podcast called My Apple Podcast, a podcast about Apple related hardware and software. Before the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, I worked at the Columbus Museum, Hunter Museum of American Art, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Thanks, Tim, for taking the time to share information about your work and art museum.

Kristin Reiber Harris