Volunteering across Birmingham’s arts and cultural sector is well established with opportunities at one-off events, at venues and at festivals across the city. Between March 18th and April 19th 1,501 people, aged from 16 to 74 gave their time with organisations recording 40,353 volunteer hours.

During Volunteers Week 2019, 1st–7th June, which is a chance to celebrate and thank those who are already giving their time, Birmingham Arts Volunteers will be hosting a number of events to highlight how people can get involved themselves.

On Saturday 1st June, arts and cultural organisations from across Birmingham will come together for a Volunteer Fair at the Studio at Birmingham Rep from 11.30am until 1.30pm to showcase the range of opportunities available. You can hear from other volunteers and find out how all Birmingham Arts Volunteers receive training and support covering everything from customer service to disability awareness.

Organisations attending the Volunteer Fair include: Birmingham Rep; Birmingham Royal Ballet; Town Hall Symphony Hall; MAC Birmingham; Be Festival; Jewellery Quarter, Number 11 Arts; Birmingham Museums; and Culture Central.

On Monday 3rd June, MAC Birmingham are holding their own Volunteer Welcome session from 6pm to 8pm, offering the opportunity for interested people to find out more about the range of roles available at MAC and how to get involved.

At Birmingham Royal Ballet on Tuesday 4th June from 3pm until 7pm, existing and new volunteers can attend a session on disability awareness, exploring the social model of disability that demonstrates how arts and volunteering are for everyone.

Yvonne Gregory, Birmingham Arts Volunteers Manager said: “Volunteers Week is a great moment to celebrate and thank our wonderful volunteers as well as to encourage more people to get involved! I hope everyone who is interested in getting involved in some way comes along to one of the events to find out how they could be part of the cities thriving and fun cultural scene. Our Arts Volunteers receive training and so are able to add to their own skills and experiences and of course get to meet a network of like-minded people. We look forward to a week of events thanking and celebrating our current volunteers and welcoming new people to the fold!”