Gregory Thomas, a print making student at the Otago Polytech School of Art was looking for something different to fill in his time, when in 2009 he attended an opening at the Blue Oyster Project Art Space with a friend. When the opportunity came up to volunteer he saw the chance to widen his networks, build on his knowledge of contemporary art and also develop more skills in the practicalities of putting on an exhibition.
His work as a volunteer typically involves helping to set up and take down exhibitions as well as host openings and take photos when needed. “The experience has been really invigorating; at first it was busy just learning what to do; now I feel more connected to the bigger picture. The Blue Oyster has a small budget, so there is an opportunity to get involved in the planning and running of the gallery, my voice as a volunteer is really valued.”
Asked if there were any unexpected consequences of his volunteering Greg said it was the social aspect. “The social network with the other volunteers is great, we all have similar interests and work really well together,” he said.
The Blue Oyster is unique in the lower South Island, it is funded by Creative New Zealand to support new and emerging contemporary artists to build their skills and networks, and also reach out to the local community to showcase talent and engage them in the ideas and concepts behind the art. It has one full time staff member, the curator Jamie Hanton.
“We are not a commercial gallery, it’s not just a matter of putting art on walls, we work very closely with each artist to develop their proposal and their ideas and how to connect with the local community. We have fantastic group of around 15 long term volunteers at the gallery, but have also been very fortunate to have people volunteer for one off talks and workshops at the Gallery. We recently had a local architect come and volunteer her time to give a public talk and respond to an exhibition,“ he said. “We also rely heavily on professionals donating their time and expertise, whether designers or accountants, their willingness to donate part or all of their time makes an incredible difference to the quality of what we are able to produce”.
Jamie’s advice for small ventures is to identify volunteering as vital to building a strong community of support around the organisation. He sees that a key to supporting volunteers is to make sure he takes the time to find out what the volunteer would most like from their experience and find a way to match their goals with furthering the organisations goals. “You have to develop a respect for the variety of skills and diversity of experience people bring, as well as their time commitments outside of volunteering. Supporting volunteers is vital, whether they really want to build their skills in putting on an exhibition, or build their understanding of contemporary art, this is where I will try and make sure they are placed”.
