Volunteer
Please note our Volunteer Scheme is currently full. We are not accepting applications at this time.
VOLUNTEER GALLERY ASSISTANT
Volunteers are an important and welcomed part of our team at Castlefield Gallery.
Volunteering with our charity will help you gain experience in gallery administration, exhibition installation and visitor services as well as helping out with events and artist workshops, plus much more.
Volunteers’ Tasks
- Invigilate the exhibition on the front desk throughout the week. You will be the front-of-house and visitors’ first point of contact, providing them with information about the gallery and current exhibition. Volunteers also check through emails and other administerial tasks.
- Work with our curator and technician during exhibition changeover and installation. This can include anything from re-painting gallery walls to getting the exhibition space presentable and ready for the next show.
- Provide support during events, from VIP Previews to artist talks and workshops.
Who we are looking for
We welcome volunteers from all walks of life, whether you are an art student, work in the arts sector, or do not have much knowledge or experience of art galleries and want to meet new people in a creative environment.
Volunteering at Castlefield Gallery is particularly helpful for those wanting to develop a career in the arts sector, helping you to become more comfortable talking about art with a wide variety of visitors. It is also valuable to artists who are developing their own practice, finding out how things work behind-the-scenes in a contemporary art gallery. Above all, we welcome anybody who simply has an interest in art or wants to help out a registered charity!
Activities and opportunities
Aside from regular shifts, we occasionally offer activities and opportunities exclusively to our team of volunteers.
In 2023 we had a volunteer-only social led by Thomas Dukes, the curator of our exhibition Archives at Play, where volunteers could get a more detailed look at the artworks and thoughts behind the curation, as well as playing creative games over pizza. 2023 also saw us offer a place on Hybrid Futures’ Collective Futures project to one of our volunteers.
Requirements
Castlefield Gallery needs volunteer gallery assistants who are personable, hard working, punctual and reliable.
You should be available to volunteer for at least 1 day per month (6.5 hours) for a minimum of three months. However for volunteers to get the best experience, 3-4 days per month over a longer period of time is recommended.
Payment
Unfortunately we are unable to offer payment. We can however reimburse basic travel expenses and subsistence.
Please note, you must be over 18 to volunteer with us.
VOLUNTEER PHOTOGRAPHER
We are looking for volunteer photographers to help document exhibitions, VIP previews, talks, events and offsite projects. The images may then go on to be used for advocacy documents, Castlefield Gallery’s website, social networking sites, newsletters, and printed media.
Requirements
We are looking for a reliable and competent photographer, able to take high quality images of all forms of artwork and gallery events.
This may include evenings and weekends. Usually one or two 2-3 hour sessions per month.
Photographers are required to edit and shortlist a selection of high quality images and provide these to the gallery by arrangement as soon after an event as possible.
Please have your own digital SLR camera and memory card.
Payment
Unfortunately we are unable to offer payment. We can however reimburse basic travel expenses and subsistence. Images will always be credited wherever possible – online and in print.
Volunteer Spotlights
IMAGES
Banner:
- Volunteer Caroline at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Volunteer Photographer Beth Clark.
From top to bottom:
- Volunteer Jess at Castlefield Gallery.
- Volunteer Ethan at Castlefield Gallery.
- Collective Futures members Mehren and Caroline in conversation at Rochdale.
- Two volunteers at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Volunteer Photographer Beth Clark.
- Artist Kelly Jayne Jones performing during Nature, Archive, Anarchy (2022) at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Volunteer Photographer Beth Clark.
- Preview of The Poetics of Water (2023) at Castlefield Gallery. Photographed by Volunteer Photographer Kate Hardy.
