Joslyn Art Museum has always aimed to be for the people. A gift from Sarah Joslyn in honor of her husband, George, it has stood as a cultural landmark for decades – and now, in the spirit of accessibility, welcomes visitors free of charge. But with over 12,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of human creativity across three buildings, knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming.
Enter The Joslyn’s public tour, a docent-led hourlong experience that adds depth without demanding prior knowledge. Tours are free and require no reservation.
On a recent Sunday, the winter light streamed through the atrium’s soaring windows, stretching long across the polished floors. A small cluster of visitors gathered near a modular gray sofa, waiting for the tour to begin. Two volunteer docents set the scene. More than just a tour, this was a re-introduction to a museum that had just received a stunning 42,000-square-foot expansion.
Upstairs, in the Phillip G. Schrager Collection, the tour paused before a striking black-and-white abstract painting. Rather than launching into the painting’s provenance or the artist’s biography, one of the docents invited a different approach.
“We’re going to try something,” she said. “First, we see.”
The group leaned in, eyes scanning the canvas. The exercise was simple: look first and let the mind make connections before the facts intruded. What shapes emerged? What dynamics played out between them? Were the brushstrokes deliberate or chaotic?
A moment passed before someone ventured: “It looks like a face.”
Another: “The circles – some are perfectly smooth, others rough. That contrast.”
“I see a lake. A house. Teeth.”
The docent nodded, unhurried, letting the group settle into the act of seeing. Then came the second stage: thinking. What did these elements suggest? What mood did they create?
“It feels like calm in one part, turbulence in another.”
“And that makes me wonder,” someone added, moving naturally into the third and final step of the exercise, “is this a nightmare?”
The group continued to wonder, ponder and speculate as the docents nudged the conversation forward, teasing out ideas before, at last, offering some context, first with the artist’s name, then with the title and intent. But the tour participants had already unlocked parts of the painting’s meaning and transformed into something more than passive observers – they’d become participants, even collaborators in the art. As they moved on, the painting lingered, alive now in a way it hadn’t been before.
The tour continued through other parts of the three-building campus, taking in three more paintings – of various styles, time periods and origins – with equally stimulating conversations.
The Joslyn and its joys are indeed for everyone – and a guided tour will illuminate the way.
Click here for more ideas for inspiring free fun in Omaha.
