Maria Bell-Salter,Volunteer Chairman, London Projects Committee
Katrina Clow, Volunteer Regional Chairman for Scotland
Tina Cook, Volunteer Representative for Bedfordshire
Richard Fowler, Volunteer Regional Chairman, London
Bob Gowland, Volunteer Representative for Cheshire
Roy Roberts, Volunteer South West Regional Adviser for PR
Alicia Senior, Volunteer Chairman of Art Happens
Lilli Schestag, Head Office Events volunteer
Maria Bell-Salter, Volunteer Chairman, London Projects Committee
I've helped the Art Fund by organizing private views, curator led talks and visits to corporate collections in London with all profits made going to The Art Fund.
The constant search for new events is motivating, and so is finding people in the community willing to offer their support in order to make these a success.
There is great satisfaction in organizing an event and seeing people enjoy it and benefiting by learning more about the London art scene.
The popular weekly series of lectures which I am hosting at the Wallace Collection enables me to represent The Art Fund to the public when presenting the speakers and to get to know more of our members.
Katrina Clow, Volunteer Regional Chairman for Scotland
Volunteering for The Art Fund brings many pleasures and benefits. Foremost is undoubtedly feeling that you have played a small part in what this great charity has achieved; free public access for all in Britain to view great works of art.
Others include being present at a gallery when a new acquisition, purchased with help from The Art Fund, is unveiled. The delight of curators, directors, patrons and supporters, always lifts the spirits.
Our Scottish volunteers raise more money for The Art Fund every year and this is a huge source of pride.
A great and perhaps unpublicised bonus for volunteers, however, is encountering the members of The Art Fund through events. We meet with a common link, a love of art; but quite soon conversations reveal other shared interests. In no time at all many members become firm and enduring friends.
Tina Cook, Volunteer Representative for Bedfordshire
When the Director of The Art Fund, David Barrie wrote to the Bedfordshire members in 2004 requesting volunteers to form a new volunteer committee he must have been surprised at the response. I was among at least eleven members who replied expressing interest.
A year later the Bedfordshire committee comprises eight members. In that time we managed to find a good sponsor; we had a library display in Bedford; and we ran three events that raised over £900 for The Art Fund.
We have also become friends and gained in confidence. This year we have had one successful event already, a talk by Brian Cairns on Rembrandt. Six more events are either advertised or in the planning stage and there is certainly no deficit of ideas.
It has been hard work starting from scratch, and quite a lot of it does fall on the representative!
However, the downside is outweighed by the pleasure of meeting so many lovely people, being part of The Art Fund team, and organising successful events knowing that the money raised will make a difference.
Richard Fowler, Volunteer Regional Chairman, London
A passion for the cause and a skill set that may help it - those are the key ingredients of a rewarding experience working for a charity.
I have always loved art in all its forms and believed that everything should be done to keep as much as possible of it in the public domain so all can enjoy it. That, of course, is what The Art Fund is all about. And given the lamentable state of government funding The Art Fund plays an ever increasingly vital role.
I had been on the creative side of advertising and retired at the wonderfully early age of 55. I wrote to David Barrie, Director of The Art Fund, to ask whether I could be of any help. It so happened that a new Marketing and Development Director - Catherine Carey - had just been appointed and that a major review of all the communication and visual identity for the organisation was one of her first priorities.
I met Catherine soon after and she decided that she could use my help to audit The Art Fund brand, write a brief, commission a new agency, and then implement a whole new look and feel for The Art Fund, vital to getting new members and increasing its grant giving capacity. It was an ideal opportunity for me as I was able to draw on all my experience in branding, for an organisation that was even more passionate about art than I am.
The process of interviewing Art Fund staff as well as people from both the marketing and curatorial side of London's art galleries and museums was an eye-opening and depressing experience. Eye-opening because I realised how much The Art Fund actually contributed to the British art world; depressing, both because so few people knew about its work, and because acquisition budgets were almost non existent.
After a few months we wrote a brief and then interviewed some of Britain's best corporate design agencies. In the end we decided on Johnson Banks, a young dynamic company run by Michael Johnson who had already had quite a lot of experience working the in art field.
The result of all this work is now launched. We hope that it will help gain The Art Fund more visibility and attract more and more members.
Working with The Art Fund has been - and still is - an incredibly rewarding experience. The people are so enthusiastic and grateful, almost embarrassingly so. And I have gained so much knowledge about the world of art.
Perhaps you too could help The Art Fund. You may be good at organising functions, have great fund-raising ideas, or great networking skill. Maybe you have good contacts in the art world, or just want to help in any capacity. But above all, you feel that The Art Fund is a fantastic cause.
Bob Gowland, Volunteer Representative for Cheshire
After thirty years as a Director of an International Auction House, and part of that time in the US, 'I was always aware of The Art Fund and the important part it has played in saving Art for the Nation. If one enjoys what an organisation does and feels it could go forward, one inevitably has to stand up and be counted'. I had found the members who attend events were, and are, generally very pleasant and interested.
Cheshire fundraises mostly by running lectures, and as I have many knowledgeable friends in the art world and I myself also lecture, I felt I could help the organisation of our fundraising lectures. I was 'volunteered' to take on the chairmanship of our county! In the event I could not have had more help and support from my excellent and able committee. We trust therefore that we will be able to continue enjoy successfully raising funds.
Roy Roberts, Volunteer South West Regional Adviser for PR
Working with The Art Fund was a great chance to use my own skills developed in the world of the media to communicate a simple message - that Britain's art heritage needs the vital support of committed people working in local communities. It was great fun to do with a good bunch of people - and it felt to me that getting this message across through the local media that people trust was really worthwhile.
Alicia Senior, Volunteer Chairman of Art Happens
I was
immediately drawn to The Art Fund as an organisation, the good work they do, the
many artistic organisations they interface with, the breadth of their
involvement throughout the London art world, their solid reputation in that
industry. So when I heard about their London event series, Art Happens, I was
immediately interested. As a freelance Events Production Manager, I found a
happy home in the range of committee members' experience, the eclectic and
creative event line-up, and the enthusiasm of attendees, committee members and
The Art Fund staff.
The key to Art Happens, as I see it, is the freedom it grants the Art Happens committee. We are given free rein to plan and develop events as we are so inclined...with the only codicil being solid events, based on a passionate interest in the exploration, development and articulation of art in all its many forms. I can't tell you how much I enjoy facilitating that work and seeing it to fruition!
Lilli Schestag, Head Office Events volunteer
Volunteering for The Art Fund is an invaluable experience. It enables you to
work for an incredibly noble cause, while also enriching your own knowledge of
art history'. I work with the Events Department, helping with lectures and
events. Volunteering for The Art Fund really makes a difference - they depend on
Volunteers to execute many of the intellectually stimulating events in London
and throughout the UK.
To find our more, download our Volunteering Information Pack (PDF) or contact Rosalie Neath on 020 7225 4863.
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