David Sedaris shares his memories in honor of the 45th anniversary of United Arts Wake County’s Artists in Schools program.
by David Sedaris
When I was in fourth or fifth grade, a woman was sent to our school to talk about art. We had a field trip to the museum scheduled and it was her job to prepare us for it. I remember one of the things she said, a joke regarding a painting she showed us a slide of: “This is called baroque because the museum went baroque trying to pay for it.”
Her biggest impact, though, was herself: chunky jewelry, bold eyeglasses and a brassy voice with a distinct Yankee accent. She clearly had a sense of humor about herself. In later years, I’d meet plenty of women like her, every single one of them Jewish, big-hearted and smart, with chunky jewelry and oversized glasses. This woman was the first, though. She let me know that the museum could be fun — and that it was as much for me as it was for anyone.
A few years later, in junior high, Ira David Wood III was sent to my class. He was a grownup at that time, but just barely, and he introduced us to acting. I recall him pretending he was trapped behind an invisible wall, running his palms against the glass that suddenly seemed as real to me as the chair I was sitting on. I was spellbound — acting!
I often wonder what my life would be like had I been absent that day. I was never much of an
actor. I was, though, terribly lonely. Ira led me to my tribe, and from that, everything changed. The world opened up.
That summer I had a non-speaking part in a production of Hamlet that Ira staged at the Rose Garden. It was absolute magic to me. That led me to the drama club at my high school, and a lifetime spent around theater people, at first in Chicago, and then New York and London.
Art budgets are generally the first ones to be slashed, the thinking being that no one really makes a career out of acting or painting or writing poetry. I’m not sure that that’s the point, though. It’s about opening people’s eyes, showing them a path, and helping them connect with like-minded kids and mentors who might very well save their lives.
Also, it helps create an audience for art. You might argue that that could be done on YouTube or TikTok, but nothing beats having the person right there, in front of you, where you can feel the thickness of the invisible wall, and marvel at just how huge the art docent’s glasses are. Like windshields.
This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.
