Profile on Anna Doll – Education Curator at Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking

Anna Doll is the education curator at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, located in Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute. Doll’s day-to-day responsibilities, and the many projects she handles at the museum, bring tremendous value not only to the Georgia Tech community, but also to the papermaking community around the world. 

With a degree in art education and a minor in art history, Doll began her career as an elementary school art teacher in Pinellas County, Florida. She then became the director of Museums for the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia and the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center History Museum and Heritage Site. 

In 2019, Doll joined the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking team as its education curator. At the museum, she creates and manages programs that include educational tours, private and public workshops on papermaking, specialized workshops through creative collaborations with artists, collaborations with other campus units for STEAM activities, and community events for kindergarten through senior adult audiences. 

"I didn't know a whole lot about papermaking when I first started here," admits Doll, "but I knew how to be an education curator." Her ability to swiftly absorb the history and concept of papermaking and translate it into engaging educational experiences has been instrumental in her success. Below are a few highlights of Doll’s projects.

Museum Tours 
Doll’s daily activities include educational tours of the papermaking museum for groups of all ages. The tours range from introducing the papermaking process to elementary and middle school students to sharing the history and heritage of papermaking with adults. In addition, she conducts virtual programs for groups interested in the history of paper and the technological advances of the papermaking process since its invention many centuries ago. 

Workshops
Doll is the point of contact for public and private workshop bookings. She also develops the concepts for these sessions, catering to groups with various interests (e.g., Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, people with disabilities, teachers, artists, college students, and public groups). This spring, Doll’s workshops included Suminagashi, Production Papermaking, Petal Fold Book, Paper Casting, and Magic Box: Jacob’s Ladder.

In addition to conceptualizing and conducting tours and workshops, she designs curricula and other resources involving paper art and science for K-12 teachers to integrate into their art classes. 

Big Paper Workshop – Convening Artists, Educators, and Community Members for a Transformative Experience in Papermaking
This spring, Doll and her colleague Jerushia Graham created a communal workshop called “Big Paper.” Offered on multiple days, this project included five college groups from Georgia and Alabama and community groups from metro Atlanta who got to create a large sheet of paper from pulp. Participants beat plant material by hand to prepare the fiber and worked with Tom Balbo, founding director of the Morgan Conservatory, to create a huge 4’x6’ sheet of paper that was mailed back to them once it was dry. 

Through her work at the museum, Doll has cultivated relationships with various artists, all of whom collaborate with the museum to conduct workshops and create and showcase art exhibits.

Additional Collaborations Across Campus
Doll partners with other units on campus to create programs. She collaborated with the Georgia Tech Library on a program called “Tech's Tactile Thursdays.” Hosted on the first Thursday of each month, it allows students, faculty, and staff to work on hands-on projects related to paper and provides an opportunity for the largely technology-focused participants to take a break from their routine, relax, and explore their creative side and enhance their well-being. 

Doll also has been an active educator at Georgia Tech Science and Engineering Day, which is part of the Atlanta Science Festival. This year, more than 3,000 K-12 students and parents visited Georgia Tech’s campus to engage in hands-on STEAM activities. Representing the museum, Doll worked with families to make prints on a clamshell printing press featuring a custom-designed Buzz image (designed by Doll) on a postcard for the kids to take home. The activity showcased the rich history of the printing press and modern technology with a photopolymer printing plate.

Through these diverse projects and initiatives at the museum, Doll continues to make a difference in the world of papermaking. Looking ahead, she hopes to expand the museum’s educational initiatives as well as the education team and its resources, and she envisions broadening the museum’s reach and impact by offering free programs to schools through grants. She is also working with Georgia Tech faculty and researchers on museum research into the art of nano cellulose and plans to establish a paper and natural dye garden for teaching.