In December 2021 we finally welcomed Volunteers back in the gallery. Our GROW participants and art gardeners had already been back a while as they had been volunteering outside, but I cannot tell you how great it was to finally get volunteers back and engaged in the gallery again.

We came back with a bang with a great team of volunteers during our fabulous Frost Fair event which ended with fireworks from the top of the gallery and a massive disco on our sculpture terrace, the Whitworth I know and love!

I’m the Whitworth Volunteer Manager and I started at the gallery when we closed back in 2014 before our capital redevelopment and reopening in 2015.

I was originally tasked with setting up a sustainable volunteer programme which would integrate various volunteer roles across the gallery and park.

Fast forward 8 years, a couple of secondments to run Volunteer Programmes at Manchester International Festival and the Science Festival (and 2 kids later), I’m still here and with a new outlook on our Volunteer Programme.

I’ve volunteered myself for years and have been managing volunteers since my first experience with Manchester’s In The City Music Conference back in 2008. I’ve always seen the worth in volunteering especially after working for music and arts festivals for years and seeing how experiences and contacts can really help young people get in to employment and find their true interests.

It wasn’t until I started working within a venue, where you can engage volunteers longer than a few weeks, that I recognised the impact to really make a difference for people and support individuals with their own specific needs.

“Volunteering at the Whitworth has made me a lot happier, given me purpose, I feel like a part of society once more and making a positive difference in other people’s lives”

Whitworth Volunteer

I don’t come from an art background, although I vividly remember my first school visit to an art gallery which just happened to be…yes you guessed it the Whitworth! I wrote a poem about an exhibition on at the time called In The Minds Eye!

I never thought I’d work at a gallery, as probably like a lot of people, I thought it wasn’t for me, I didn’t have the knowledge about artists (a part from some of the obvious) and I thought I didn’t know how to talk about or even engage with it.

This is what encouraged me to try to break down barriers for people engaging in the gallery. We are lucky enough to be situated within a beautiful community park and gardens which is where the first volunteer role of the ‘Art Gardener’ was born. Learning the art of gardening, the skill of the maintenance of outdoor sculptures and gaining a qualification with Manchester College meant that we could really engage a variety of volunteers who didn’t necessarily have the art knowledge or even interest! Interestingly, we recruited most of these volunteers through Manchester City Councils waiting list of people wanting allotments.

Recently we worked with the amazing charity Afrocats who support refugees, asylum seekers and people living below the poverty line who face exclusion. The Afrocats Takeover took place this February and Easter half terms (You can read more about this project here)

Having Afrocats and Whitworth Volunteers buddied up together opened up opportunities for all the individuals involved, breaking down any barriers of volunteering within an art gallery and sharing each other’s interests. The result was a real diverse, inspiring and positive volunteer team.

I won’t go into too much detail about all our roles and projects, but if you ever want a coffee and chat to find out more please feel free to get in touch!

From developing the programme further, and drawing on the Whitworth’s Vision and Mission the three main aims of our Volunteer Programme are:

Volunteering for Wellbeing

Drawing on our experience of delivering a socially engaged volunteer programme, we are constantly exploring how volunteering can combat social and economic isolation and improve wellbeing.

Volunteering for Learning

Helping volunteers to access culture, re-engage with learning and develop transferable skills leading towards increased employability.

Volunteering for All

We welcome everybody and hope to make each opportunity meaningful no matter what your background or experiences.

We are also proud to have a number of previous volunteers as staff members and regular paid Creative Practitioners.

I would encourage anyone to register their interest and you will be the first to hear about the ever-expanding opportunities we have available:

Register your interest to volunteer here

Our current regular volunteer teams include:

Library Volunteers who help in cataloguing and organising our collection of 10,000 books to make these books more accessible to all and eventually curating our own Whitworth Library.

GROW and the Natural and Cultural Health Service Volunteers help support our GROW programme and its current mission to develop Whitworth Park’s Community Garden. Welcoming people to promote the benefits of engaging in horticultural activities to improve your mental wellbeing.

Textile Care Volunteers assist in the maintenance and conservation of our vast textile collection. Learning from our experienced Collections Manager and Textile Conservator. The many volunteers over the years have been integral in this massive project and you can find out more about this role via our previous volunteer, now Curatorial Assistant, Vicky. Her Visitor Team blog can be found here

Art Gardener Volunteers support our Landscape Sustainability Technician with the maintenance of the sculpture terrace, Art Garden, Alex Bernstein Garden and new community garden in Whitworth Park. Sometimes they support at off-site horticultural events such the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show, The Manchester Flower Show and some outreach work supporting on local commissions.

Still Parents Exhibition Volunteers encourage visitors of all ages to explore the artworks made and loaned by the Still Parents participants and from the Whitworth’s collection. Providing information and facilitating conversations around the subject of baby loss and listening and learning from visitors, their stories and research, and share these where appropriate. Many of our Still Parent Volunteers have lost their beautiful babies and are happy to talk to all visitors in the space. This project and the volunteers are supported by the SANDS Charity.

Open House Project Volunteers bring together a community of participants to gather photographs and stories about 20th Century life. The volunteer team are supported to photograph the wallpaper collection and link these patterns to the memories of lived experiences. This project will improve and enrich access to the around 10,000 wallpapers housed at the Whitworth. The project is connected to the ever-expanding exhibition Open House and will be recruiting more volunteers soon.

(Un)Defining Queer | Collections Care Centre Invigilator and LGBTQIA+ Glossary Documentor Volunteer Recruiting for volunteers now…(Un)Defining Queer is a participatory-led form of practice that is developing a glossary of queer language and terms in order to better represent our LGBTQIA+ communities, through language within the gallery and collection.

Members of this team will volunteer in the Collection Care Centre to help us capture language that our visitors will be encouraged to contribute. Volunteer will also help us document and develop the glossary.

The project will be connected to the exhibition (Un)Defining Queer, opening in November 2022.

Outdoor Art Club Volunteers assist with our outdoor activities, encouraging engagement in activities and facilitating play. Learning with our regular team of artists and Forest School Practitioner in the development, planning and reflecting on these popular outdoor art sessions.

Event and Workshop Volunteers From big events like our biannual Frost Fair Festival, our annual Summer activities with Playtime (recruiting now!), to one off print workshops for young people or creative sessions with our Age Friendly team and everything else in-between we try to create as many volunteer opportunities as we can with our events and workshops and especially for all those busy people who might just want to do some one-off volunteer days with us.

There’s still more to come but at the moment the priority is quality over quantity!

Volunteer Social and Open Evening Event

If you want to find out more about the gallery and opportunities coming up in a informal and relaxed setting please feel free to come along to our

Volunteer Social and Open Evening on Thursday 23^rd June 5:30pm – 8:30pm

it is open to all and you can find out more and sign up to register your attendance here

Want to volunteer?

We are looking for a team of Playtime! Volunteers to get involved this August if you fancy getting involved you can register your interest to volunteer here

_{I would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing volunteers we have here at the gallery, I’ve been very lucky over the years to meet the most wonderful people and it’s definitely the highlight of my job! Imela!}

_{In my next blog I will be covering our Volunteering with your Family Project we started a few years ago and hope to start up again this summer.}

_{Any questions or comments please email fiona.cariss@manchester.ac.uk}