Volunteer Front of House Assistant
Application Form
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Camden Arts Centre. Volunteer Front of House
Assistants play a crucial role in Camden Arts Centre’s activities and are extremely important
to us. They make a significant contribution to the smooth running of the Centre by helping to
look after the exhibitions and assisting visitors in an informed and friendly manner.
If you enjoy interacting with the public and working as part of a team please complete all
sections of this application form carefully and return by email or post to Brittany Hoie, Front
of House Duty Manager, Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Road, London, NW3 6DG.
brittany.hoie@camdenartscentre.org
Please read the ‘About Us, About You’ section below and the ‘Key Tasks’ thoroughly and
answer all the questions as fully as possible. Please continue onto separate sheets if
necessary and return your form saved as a .doc or .pdf document. Further information can
be found in our Front of House Volunteer guide downloadable from our website:
http://www.camdenartscentre.org/about/volunteer/.
Due to the number of applications we receive to join the team unfortunately we are not able
to reply to all candidates.
Application forms should be received no later than
12.00pm on Saturday 27 February 2016.
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About Us, About You:
Camden Arts Centre is a place for seeing, making and talking about contemporary art. Our
year-round programme includes exhibitions, artist residencies, talks and events, school and
artists’ projects, courses and off-site activities. We believe that art should be inclusive and
what is so fantastic about our programme is that there are multiple points of access for
people of all ages and levels of experience to get involved.
Camden Arts Centre is charity and an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio
organisation. ACE funding represents around 55% of our annual turnover. The remainder is
generated through fundraising and earned income from our bookshop and sales of artist
editions. As well as donations we rely on support through volunteering and our team of 40+
Volunteer Front of House Assistants are incredibly important to us. With the help of people
like you our organisation has been inspiring art since 1965. Throughout 2015-16 we are
celebrating our 50th anniversary and we look forward to welcoming you at this exciting time.
Volunteer Front of House Assistants work with the Team Leader Invigilator on duty to help
provide security for the exhibitions and installations. They are responsible for enforcing the
following Gallery rules: no touching of the artworks, no food or drink in the galleries
and no running (we encourage families to hold hands). It is important that Volunteer Front
of House Assistants are friendly but confident: you need to be vigilant as the items on
display are delicate and even clean hands can cause damage.
We are keen to work with volunteers who have interest in contemporary art, though no
previous knowledge is required. It is important that you enjoy working with visitors. Volunteer
Front of House Assistants are “the public face” of Camden Arts Centre.
At Camden Volunteer Front of House Assistants have the opportunity to engage in additional
activities that support the centre. Volunteers can lead exhibition Guided Tours, assist with
our drop in family workshop ‘Make & Do’ and help out for an hour at a time in the office. We
run a programme of monthly Volunteer only Workshops and Seminars on themes such as
‘Exhibition Organising’, ‘Arts Education’, ‘Exhibition Installation’, ‘Fundraising for the Arts’
and ‘Digital Communications’. We are very keen to ensure that Volunteers are able to form
relationships with each other and staff members and are able to grow through the
programme of additional opportunities.
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Key Tasks (Compulsory):

To attend all assigned shifts.

To welcome visitors to the gallery and answering any questions they have about the
Gallery or exhibitions.

To help provide security for the art works and installations at all times and enforce the
following Gallery rules: no touching of the artworks, no food or drink in the galleries and no
running (we encourage families to hold hands).

To assist the Team Leader to open/close the exhibitions at the start/end of each day and
ensure that the spaces are ready for visitors and that high presentation standards are
maintained all day.

To represent Camden Arts Centre by wearing the appropriate uniform and keeping up to
date with the current and forthcoming exhibitions, participatory activities, programmed
events, courses and the Friends Scheme at Camden Arts Centre.

To be friendly and approachable at all times and to maintain good relationships with staff
and other volunteers.

To record visitor numbers and satisfaction levels using the Daily Report sheet, feeding
back any visitor views and security or health and safety issues to Camden Arts Centre
staff.
Additional Tasks (Optional):

To plan and conduct Guided Tours for visitors to the exhibitions.

To assist artists and Education Assistants on Sunday afternoons during our drop family
workshop ‘Make & Do’.

To occasionally take one hour out of the Galleries and assist staff with general
administrative duties in the Office when required.

To attend social events plus seminars, tours and workshops on a range of topics
including, art education, fundraising and development, exhibition installation and digital
communications.
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Part 1 - Personal Details:
Surname:
First Names:
Title:
Date of Birth:
Address:
Postcode:
Contact telephone number:
Contact email address:
Do you have any support needs? (Please specify) Y/N
How or where did you hear about this opportunity?
P a r t 2 – Av a i l a b i l i t y:
For your first three months of volunteering you must be able to maintain a weekly
commitment to the Centre, attending shifts of 4.5-7 hours. (We offer more flexible shift
structures for Volunteers who have been with the Centre for longer than three month.)
Shifts are allocated between 9.30am and 6.30pm (with a 30 minute or 1 hour break
depending on shift length), Tuesday – Sunday whilst exhibitions are open to the public. For
our next exhibition, this will be from Wednesday 23 March - Sunday 5 June 2016.
When would you be able to come into the Centre and complete your shifts? (Please
specify from the options below)
Weekdays
Weekends
Evenings
You can use the space below to write any notes about your upcoming availability.
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P a r t 3 – Ap p l i c a t i o n :
Please address the information included in the ‘About Us, About You’ and ‘Key Tasks’
sections of this application form.
1. Please tell us, in detail, why you would like to donate your time in support of
Camden Arts Centre.
What particular skills and experience do you think you can bring to the role of Volunteer
Front of House Assistant? Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary.
2. Personal Statement. Please include any skills and experience you have that
would help you to achieve the key tasks the role of Volunteer Front of House
Assistant involves?
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3. What would you like to gain from your volunteering experience at Camden Arts
Centre?
4. How would volunteering at Camden Arts Centre fit with your other
commitments?
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Part 4 - References:
Please give the name and contact details of one reference that we may approach. This
person should know you well, either through employment, education or voluntary work and
should not be a family member.
Surname:
First Names:
Title/Position:
Address:
Postcode:
Contact email address:
Contact telephone number:
How long has this person known you and in what capacity?
Part 5 - Declaration:
Please note that we will only be able to respond to applications sent during the volunteer
recruitment period stated on the Camden Arts Centre website. Registration forms sent
outside of this period will not be kept on file. We cannot accept those under 18 or those with
a Visitors Visa onto the volunteer programme and are unable to offer work experience
placements or internships. Volunteers joining the programme will need to provide
photographic identification in the form of a current passport.
We will invite successful short-listed applicants to an informal interview and welcome
evening in on Monday 7 March 2016.
Following this, those invited to become Volunteer Front of House Assistants will be
asked to attend a training session on Wednesday 16 March, in advance of the
forthcoming Exhibition Preview on Wednesday 23 March 2016.
I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the information given above is correct
and I can confirm I am 18 years old or over and I am available for interview and training on
the above dates.
Signature:
Date:
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