Below is an open call from Museum Director Olivia Luther to all motivated volunteers. We are opening up great opportunities to shape the future of the Museum!
The Museum staff has been working on a new vision to help us become a more relevant and community-driven institution. Despite all our hard work, we realized that if we want to really get some fun participatory projects going, we need some help. My staff is fabulous, but they are stretched thin with a slate of summer programs, developing fall exhibitions, and fundraising efforts, so we are looking for a few extra hands.
So… if you have been wondering where you could funnel all of your creative energy and ideas…look no further – we have an opportunity for you!
Now for the small print disclaimer… We have no money. We cannot pay you in dollars. And we have no money with which to present programs and exhibitions. Yes, I feel that museum workers should be paid and paid well for their efforts. But the museum is currently in a position where we need to rely heavily on volunteers to do all kinds of things from planning events to running the store.
And! Unlike people with paid positions, you will have the opportunity to focus entirely on creating a killer project. We will give you some direction and check in on you as often as you would like, but mostly, you'll have the run of your project. We also still need help on our front desk assisting with admissions and to be the first smiling face patrons see. While this may not be the most exciting job, this is the most important. Bring a friend and make it a social occasion to welcome patrons and be ambassadors of great art!
Here is a list of things we are looking for (but we are open to other ideas too):
Creativity Lounge. After the current exhibition comes down on September 3rd, we are hoping to turn one of our gallery spaces into a fully hands-on experience for visitors. This studio space will be provided for all to come and get their art on! If you are a master in the art of concocting creative experiences, we need your help to assist our patrons by wetting their a(rt)ppetite and getting those creative juices flowing! In addition, we will also need a person with crafty resourcefulness to collect and organize art materials that will be used for a variety of projects. Mainly, this area will require artistically inclined supervisors to be present in the space and available to help out with our visitor’s creative, hands-on, experience.
Museum Reinvigoration Project. We have a great space! When we have school tours and events, the energy is fabulous, but other times it can feel a bit cavernous and dead. We would like to invite local artists, crafters to come and demo/make/perform in the museum on a regular basis. We're looking for someone who loves to coordinate with artists and feels just as comfortable sweet-talking a tuba player into giving a demonstration as he does cleaning up from a surfboard shaping afternoon. Please keep in mind, these programs should appeal to both children and adults, creating an all (age) inclusive atmosphere.
Late night programming. Starting July 1st, the museum is changing its hours to the following:
Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
The first Friday of each month, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
On the Friday nights, we want to offer events geared towards adults – and we are really open to ideas on this one. We could offer game shows, a tag-team art/history lecture series, an exhibition jam, and an urban history scavenger hunt. The main idea here is for it to be something fun, exciting, and unique that, most importantly, could be paired with a great cocktail! It could be whatever you are thinking/doing/exploring right now. The more fun the planning of this night can be. The more fun it will be for patrons to partake of it.
Museum Store. Have you ever wondered how we stock our great Museum store? Have you ever had ideas of what we should sell? Here’s your chance to give the store a complete makeover. We are looking for an individual, or a group of individuals who would like to do the following: find new merchandise from consignment artists; negotiate contracts, prices and closeouts with artists; design all displays and keep them looking fresh; handle all aspects of inventory; organize special sale events; and update our point-of-sale system. This position will require steady work and we are looking for a long term partner committed to making the store shine! If you have a retail background or simply are interested in our store, we want you!
Art Swap Meet. This is a big one. We would like to start hosting an art fair for local artists/artisans/crafters/etc. to sell their works to the public. No specifics here – we want to hear your thoughts...
If you are interested in one or more of these opportunities, or you know someone who is, please send me an email and I will get back to you soon. We’re not expecting to make all of these things happen this summer, but we'd love it if we could get a few exciting things off the ground soon.
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