Your tour leader

Joan Slack

Your tour leader and guide: Your tour will be led by scholar, artist and teacher Joan Molloy Slack, who will guide the tour and interpret the range of fascinating things we will see and experience, from rock art to Irish culture and contemporary art. She has been organizing and leading tours for 15 years to Ireland, Scotland, France, and Mexico as well as within the United States. She is a teacher and college instructor, a ceramic and fiber artist, (www.riverrunarts.com), and holds a Master’s Degree in Prehistoric Ceramics and Visual Art. Joan will bring her knowledge of art history, experience as a museum curator, and her passion for art and history to our daily excursions. As a firm believer in sustainable tourism, she also seeks out the best local guides, from historians to storytellers, so that we may hear and see through their eyes as well. She is a dual citizen, Irish/American, and her family comes from a small town called Rathcabbin in Tipperary. You can read about her travels and research in Ireland on the blog page.

“I began tour guiding 15 years ago through teaching college classes combined with tours in Art History to Mexico and Ireland. I also led independent travel experiences that included Ireland as well as Scotland and France, after researching prehistoric art and ceramics and attaining my Master’s Degree. My fascination with the people who were the first recorded artists, as seen in the cave paintings in France, or on ancient pottery designs or rock art carvings, continues to drive my desire to learn, explore and share my passion for what I have learned with fellow travelers. As I researched and traveled, I found that the best way to delve deeply was to seek out local guides, artists and historians who helped bring the stories of places alive. This never fails to create a rich, meaningful and life changing experience. Layers of story, place names, deeper meanings and human connection create a rich, multi-layered tour with memories that remain long after the travel is over. I bring this element to all of my tours, and it makes all the difference in what feels authentic versus an overview, or a superficial tour. As an artist, teacher, art historian, scholar and adventurer, I am so looking forward to sharing amazing people, places and experiences with you!”