Why you should volunteer at the Brampton Arts Council

It's that time of the year! We here at the office are gearing up for another season of Art in the Open interviewing potential vendors to sell their beautiful goods and art works. I'm enjoying it immensely and simultaneously seeking volunteers to help the team for Art in the Open 2010. What does this help involve exactly?

For those who enjoy being outside, Art in the Open is an event we run with the City's Farmer's Market every Saturday from 7 am – 1 pm. It allows member artists and artisans to showcase and sell their works from needlepoint to sculpture from photography to t-shirt and other interesting items. We need help setting up in the morning, manning the Council's booth, taking down our booth at the end of the day. Sounds like quite a work load however; each volunteer usually has a little time to themselves to check out what's new at the market.

Coincidentally, this volunteer talk comes at a convenient time. Last month, I gave a small presentation to the Teen Library Council (TLC, such a lovely acronym) on why volunteering with the Arts Council is a good idea.

If you've ever wondered how and where the arts and administration combine, this would be the place and arts administration would be the game. First off, being an artist is not a requirement, though it can come in handy.

There are a lot of reasons why you should choose to volunteer with us:
1. We'd like to get to know you, your thoughts and ideas - What do you enjoy doing around town? What do you wish there was more of?
2. You have an opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty (what exactly the Arts Council does).
3. You can use your talents and channel your interest where they are needed. For example:
4. If you like looking for information online, there may be projects that require research.
5. Are you fast, efficient & accurate on the keyboard? Data entry could be your thing.
6. Are you electronically apt? Do you enjoy working with digital photos and videos? You can help organize, format and upload our digital photo albums or edit video footage.
7. Are you soothed and satisfied engaging in simple, repetitive tasks? Perfect! An integral part of office operations includes stuffing envelopes, posting mail, collating mail-outs.
8. Do you have a vehicle and like to meet people? You deliver our Arts Guides.

I think you get the picture. Let us know what your interest is and we will find something to match. With interest, comes your pay out in knowledge. That knowledge can come from anywhere when you are open minded - general administrative duties, research or interviewing staff about their experiences. Plus, the Arts Council is willing to verify the work you put into volunteering.

If you are still not sure about what experience you want to have, check out our website www.artsbrampton.ca. The website is an awesome place To stART lookINg. You’ll see THEre are so many options OPEN to you!