Artist's Resource Pack

Some people know they want to work in the arts from an early age. They might choose subjects to study at school and at college that will help them find their way in. Other people get involved in arts projects and decide they want to do more. Some people volunteer with arts organisations to find out more about the jobs that are available and the work that is done. Volunteering might include helping out on projects or becoming a board member for an organisation and helping it develop and run smoothly.

Volunteering

Shape welcomes volunteers to help us with the administration of our London offices and to support Shape Tickets.

Shape offers an intern programme for talented individuals who can offer 2-3 days per week for 6 months or more. This opportunity gives people valuable experience in research, administration, IT and working in a busy office and with a busy and creative arts development team. To find out more, email or call Catherine Hawes on cath@shapearts.org.uk/020 7619 6171.


Shape Tickets needs Access Assistants to help people access the arts across London. Our volunteers collect the Shape Tickets member from their home, go with them to the event and take them home again afterwards. Shape Tickets  pays for the volunteer's ticket and covers all petrol and parking expenses.
 
We are looking for volunteers willing to commit to doing at least one trip every month, but hours are very flexible as performances are both evenings and matinees, midweek and weekends.
 
For further information on Shape Tickets, follow this link. This will take you out of the artist’s resource site and to the Shape Tickets part of the Shape site (www.shapearts.org.uk/shapetickets).  To sign-up as an Access Assistant, contact Laura Cream on 020 7619 2611 or email lcream@shapearts.org.uk.

To find out more about how organisations can support disabled volunteers, you can look at a guide produced by the Disability Rights Organisations. It is called Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Disabled Volunteeters. This link will take you out of the artist’s resource site and straight to the document on the Disability Rights Commission site (www.drc-gb.org/PDF/ Guidance_for_Volunteer_Opportunity_ Providers_Apr07.pdf)

Volunteering England has a link to some information on working with deaf volunteers produced by the RNID. This link will take you out of the artist’s resource site and to the information on the RNID site where you can find out more (www.rnid.org.uk/ howyoucanhelp/work_with_us/ volunteering/dhohvolunteers/)
 
Volunteering England also have some more information in their Good Practice Bank on volunteering and state benefits. This link will take you out of the artist’s resource site and to the information on the Volunteering England site where you can find out more (www.volunteering.org.uk/Resources/ goodpracticebank/Core+Themes/ expenses/index.htm)

If you want to volunteer in the Arts or in Heritage, there is a national volunteering site called Volunteering England that could help you. They can link you to other organisations in these areas who can help you get in touch with local organisations. They work with Voluntary Arts Network, National Trust, The British Association of Friends of Museums and English Heritage. This will take you out of the artist’s resource site and straight to the volunteering site (www.volunteering.org.uk). They have also produced a factsheet on volunteering and benefits which you can download directly from their site.
   
There is another national database of volunteering opportunities too. You can search this site by location, by the amount of time you wish to spend volunteering and by interest. This will take you out of the artist’s resource site and straight to the do it site (www.do-it.org.uk).

If you have plenty of experience to offer, you could join the Arts & Business Board Bank. This puts together arts organisations and senior business managers who have been through a training programme run by Arts & Business in good governance. This will take you out of the artist’s resource site and straight to the Arts & Business site (www.aandb.org.uk).

Shape runs a one day seminar called Future Leaders which makes the whole process of being a board member or trustee clear and accessible. You can join whether you are already a board member or if you just wish to find out more about what being a board member means. This will take you out of the artist’s resource site and straight to the Future Leader section of the Shape site (www. XXXXXXXXX)