Blending cultural perspectives with one of life’s sustainable natural resources, “My Water, My Culture,” is on display through Jan. 16, at the Arizona Capitol Museum in Phoenix.
The Museum of Arizona Artists presents the exhibition, guest curated by Aaron Eagles, who is one of few Black docents nationwide. Making history in the museum circuits, the Southern California native is a Phoenix resident who grew up in Scottsdale.
While curating his first exhibition for a museum in November, he and the artists spoke about the necessity of water and its binding force for “all ethnicities, ecosystems and the ethos of our planet’s existence.”
“This exhibition dives into the significance of water to Arizona, the world and humanity itself; and artists connect their culture with the significance of water using different mediums to display their expressions,” Eagles said. “For me, this show was about letting artists tell us how their culture relates to the exhibition, in contrast to some curators, docents and museums wanting to explain to visitors what someone’s culture is to them and for them.”
He is proud of the diverse cultural representations in the art show. Eagles thanked MOAZA, Dr. Melanie Ohm, the project advisor, Jo-Ann Lowney, board secretary, and Mitra Kamali for the opportunity to curate the exhibition, and called them examples of individuals vested in people, culture and inviting those who are often “viewed as outsiders into new spaces.”
“It’s been an amazing experience that I am forever grateful for, and God-willing the first of many. Because the truth remains that volunteering in some museums for people of color can be a challenge, getting a job within one seems to be even more of a hurdle,” said Eagles about being the first Black man to become a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum.
“I would have never guessed this, or sought this information out, but one of my docent mentors told me this upon finishing the intro modules. I was aware of being the only Black man (person) in the room, but I was not aware of or would have ever thought in a million years that I was the first Black docent. This realization was so eye-opening to me, and for the first time, made me realize how many firsts are yet to be had by Black people and other minorities in the U.S.”
After spending time abroad, his museum interests grew upon returning to the U.S. and being introduced to the docent industry, which consists of people who love art and culture, with an interest in museums while learning and sharing with one another.
Before getting involved in museums, he curated a few galleries overseas, and when he returned to the U.S., he volunteered at the Houston Holocaust Museum, the Arizona Jewish Historic Society where he became a docent there as well.
“In a sense, I fell into museums, and from there got my first museum job at the S’edav Va’aki Museum,” he said of the former Pueblo Grande Museum.
“After that, I continued to get paid positions/projects with other museums and have also done work for the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, Phoenix Art Museum (Fashion), and most recently with the Museum of Arizona Artists,” he added.
Delarita Ford
Lead Reporter | Surprise
Meet Delarita
Delarita Ford originally joined Independent Newspapers Incorporated, now Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 1997, as a general assignment reporter for the Delaware State News daily paper after starting her journalism career in Maryland in 1994, where she honed her skills by writing obituaries, covering community news from births to deaths, education to legislation and more. As a reporter, she has had the opportunity to cover sitting and former U.S. presidential visits in Baltimore, Delaware, and Arizona.
Community: One of the few seasoned journalists who still enjoys covering community events, she can be found with a reporter’s pad taking notes, her phone taking pictures while capturing life’s moments to memorialize them in print for the local newspapers and for the active-adult community where she lives. She maintains a presence with the Black media and the National Association of Black Journalists to encourage peers, socialize, and mentor younger writers.
Education: Life learner who learns from life. Aside from the collegiate education received, she got the best training from on-the-job experience with former editors who went through copy with a red pen and demanded the best writing for hard news and feature stories.
Random Fact: While a Delaware State News reporter, she could call then Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, usually late at night if a quote or input was needed for varying topics, including legislation and education.
Hobbies: Adopt rescue dogs and give them a nice home. Continuously read and critique news stories from various platforms.
Keywords
Arizona Capitol Museum,
Aaron Eagles,
Docent,
Museum of Arizona Artists,