Volunteers' Week takes place from Monday 3 - Sunday 9 June 2024. At Hampshire Cultural Trust we have an extraordinary team of volunteers, who give their time, energy and passion in so many different ways, championing our spaces and collections while creating a positive, welcoming and educational experience for our visitors. This week is the perfect time to recognise the fantastic contribution our volunteers make. Here, our General Manager Adham Tawfik reflects on what volunteers mean to our two museums in Alton.
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Curtis Museum and Allen Gallery. They assist in every aspect of the venues from the smiley, friendly welcome to the care and cleanliness of the collection. We have had a very busy couple of years with the work we have been putting into the Allen Gallery and have seen an increase in the number of workshops and exhibitions we have put on.
“Our volunteers were there again to help with the work we have achieved with dementia groups, mental health workshops and many a school group, making a positive impact on so many lives. They have worked with local collectors to create exhibitions and displays in the Curtis and helped invite scout groups to visit after hours. This year, the Allen and Curtis recorded their best visitor figures and none of this would have been possible without the support of our volunteers. Thank you.”
Allen Gallery volunteer stats!
We’ve just finished the first phase of a major new project to redevelop the Allen Gallery, Rediscovering the Allen Gallery. For this project, we developed a whole new volunteer programme to complement and work alongside the already strong team of volunteers at the gallery. New roles included collections research, auditing and documentation, as well as community engagement, and training was given in subjects such as object handing, historical research and label writing.
The volunteer contribution to the project was
· 1508.5 hours spent on the ceramic collections
· A total of 7100 objects inventoried and/or audited
· Around 5500 objects photographed to Art UK standards
· 936 volunteer hours providing skills and general support for the community programme
If you find you have some spare time, we would love you to come join us and become part of our team. Please visit our website, email toby.mearing@hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk , phone 01420 82802 or just pop in to one of our Alton museums and have a chat with a member of the team.
