voluntary arts week

7/29/2019 Voluntary Arts Week

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How to get involved in Voluntary Arts Week

Briefing 157 / December 2012

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Voluntary Arts Week shines a light on all thewonderful amateur arts and crafts activity

taking place across the UK and theRepublic of Ireland and encouragesothers to join in.

Its an annual celebration of the impact voluntary arts

groups have on their communities, and the diverse

work they produce. This Briefing tells you all about

Voluntary Arts Week, how you can get involved and

the benefits it could bring to you and others.

How it all began

The first Voluntary Arts Week took place in Scotland in

May 2011 but, like most good ideas, we borrowed it

from someone else. Since 2007, thousands of people

across Belgium have been enjoying the annual Week

of Amateur Arts (or WAK as its known there) and we

thought a similar event would work well here. The

Netherlands also got onboard in 2011, and their

annual WAK is proving increasingly popular.

In 2012 Voluntary Arts Week was rolled out acrossEngland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland, so now encompasses the whole of the UK and

Ireland. Hopes are high that it will continue to thrive

and grow into the future, just like WAK.

Why get involved in VoluntaryArts Week?

There are many reasons to get involved in Voluntary

Arts Week:

To grow your group if youre looking to attract

new members, Voluntary Arts Week is the perfect

opportunity. See overleaf for ways to show people

what you do and encourage them to join in.

To raise your profile the extra exposure brought

about by this special week can help raise your

groups profile in the local media, potentially boosting

participant and audience numbers.

To celebrate your achievements groups work

hard all year round, both behind the scenes and infront, and this is a chance to come together and

celebrate all that youve achieved.

To feel part of something knowing that youre part

of a nationwide event celebrating the arts and crafts

reminds us all that were part of something bigger. A

warm feeling inside is distinctly possible.

To help boost the voluntary arts nationwide

the more groups and individuals who take part in

Voluntary Arts Week, the bigger message it sends to

local and national decision-makers about the

importance of arts and crafts activity. So lets make it

a big one!

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What could you do duringVoluntary Arts Week?

Performing arts

Open rehearsal if your drama group, choir,

orchestra, dance troupe or band meets for a weeklyrehearsal, why not open your doors during Voluntary

Arts Week and invite people in? An open rehearsal is

a relaxed, unpressured way for people to see what

you do, and perhaps be inspired to join in.

Special performance during Voluntary Arts Week,

you could maximise on the extra publicity the week

could bring by putting on a special one-off show,

perhaps to raise money for charity.

Taster session sometimes its not until you try

something that you know how much fun it is. Give

people a chance to share your enjoyment by runninga taster session, giving them a gentle introduction to

your activity.

Public performance whether its an unexpected

flashmob, or a pre-announced performance, taking

your talent out into the public arena is a great way to

get noticed. Bus or train stations, shopping centres,

bandstands, parks, town centres there are lots of

places to show your skills to a whole new audience

(but make sure you get permission first!).

Visual arts and craft Whats In Your Window? one of the most exciting

aspects of Voluntary Arts Week is the Whats In Your

Window? campaign. During the week, were asking

people to showcase their creativity by placing

paintings, photographs, knitting, quilts, or anything

else theyve produced, in their window alongside a

Voluntary Arts Week banner. Why not take this

opportunity to create a group display to show more

people what you do? See opposite for ideas on

which windows to use.

Run a workshop if your visual art or craft group

has amassed a set of skills be it oil painting or

flower arranging dont keep it to yourself. Run a

special themed workshop during Voluntary Arts Week

to share your abilities with others.

Hold a come and try session less formal than a

workshop, come and try sessions are a great way to

offer people hands-on fun in a relaxed environment.

Exhibit your work celebrate your groups

achievements with a special Voluntary Arts Week

exhibition, perhaps featuring some of your favourite

pieces from the previous year.

All voluntary arts groups

If youre already holding an event during this years

Voluntary Arts Week, simply badge it as a Voluntary

Arts Week event. You can list it on the Voluntary Arts

Week website to benefit from the additional publicity,and download marketing material (including the

Voluntary Arts Week logo) to help advertise your event.

Get together with others

Voluntary Arts Week is a great opportunity to get

together with other groups, organisations and venues.

It could lead to a relationship that lasts year-round. If

you fancy trying something different, why not:

Step outside your art or craft form get in touch

with other local groups in your area and see how you

could work together. For example, a youth orchestra

and young dance group could team up for a show. Or

a photography group could capture some

yarnbombing done by local knitters.

Reach out to other groups if there are groups in

your area who do the same thing as you, why not

see if you could collaborate on a special project for

Voluntary Arts Week? Two choirs are louder than one

when it comes to flashmobs!

Work with nearby venues see if venues in your

area can provide a home for your Voluntary Arts

Week event perhaps one youve never used

before? Council offices, theatres and libraries are

especially good for the Whats In Your Window

campaign. Imagine how amazing it would look, if

public buildings across the British Isles had their

windows filled with beautiful art and crafts!

If you work for a local authority/council or other public

organisation, could you provide a performance space

or window for a local arts or crafts group? Better yet,

could you run, facilitate or support a performance in

your town centre during Voluntary Arts Week?


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Voluntary Arts is currently hatching its own plans to get

knitters, sewers, quilters and other craftspeople

together for an exciting nationwide project so if youd

like to get involved, email [email protected]

and let us know.

Publicising yourVoluntary Arts Week event

Due to the special nature of Voluntary Arts Week, its

worth flagging up your event to all the usual channels

then pushing the boat out even further. Local

newspapers, radio stations, online forums, community

magazines and libraries are a great place to start. Plus

social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter

(your own, and the Voluntary Arts Week ones). If

youre mentioning your event on Twitter, be sure to

use the #voluntaryartsweek hashtag.

If youre putting up a poster or sending out flyers,

make sure you download the free resources from the

Voluntary Arts Week website, to badge your event with

the special logo.

You can also list your event for free on the Voluntary

Arts Week website, and well spread the word far and

wide, through both traditional media and the Voluntary

Arts Week Facebook page and Twitter feeds. Well be

directing lots of people to the Voluntary Arts Week

website so make sure youre on it!

How other groups got involved inVoluntary Arts Week

A wide range of groups have joined in previous Voluntary

Arts Week celebrations. Here are just some of them:

Ponteland Library near Newcastle teamed up with a

local floral art group and photographic society. They

hosted a week-long programme of events including

exhibitions, drop-in taster sessions and craft

demonstrations.

The Scots Music Group (pictured below) held an

open rehearsal and public performance, allowing

newcomers and traditional music lovers to see them

in action and find out more about the range of

classes and workshops they offer.

Milton Keynes Council held their annual Arts &

Heritage Open Places during Voluntary Arts Week,

and used our website to link to their programme of

over 50 events, including workshops, tours, talks,

exhibitions, demonstrations and open studios at

venues across Milton Keynes.

Granny Greens Big Night Out, a weekly gatheringof crafters and creatives based in Edinburgh, held an

exhibition of members work in the window of a

disused shop as part of the Whats In Your Window?

campaign. This generated a lot of interest and gave

them an opportunity to tell people about the groups

upcoming programme.

Voluntary Arts Week is a great way to get the word

out there if youre part of a voluntary arts organisation,

or a great way to try something new if youre not.

Myself and my volunteers thoroughly enjoyedourselves. - P.I.E. Arts Group

Help Voluntary Arts Week grow

We expect Voluntary Arts Week to grow year-on-year,

but we cant do it without your help.

As well as taking part in the week, and letting us know

about your event, we need people to upload their

photographs onto the Voluntary Arts Week website.Were especially keen to see your Whats In Your

Window snaps.




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You can also help spread the word about this exciting

annual celebration, by liking the Voluntary Arts Week

Facebook page, tweeting about it if you have a Twitter

account (using the #voluntaryartsweek hashtag) and

by good old word of mouth.

Further Resources

Voluntary Arts Week website Here youll find

empty belly posters (for you to write in your own

event), a press release template, Whats In Your

Window banners, information on how to add your

event and much more.

Visit www.voluntaryartsweek.org or contact us on

[email protected].

Facebook and Twitter Keep up to date on latestdevelopments with the Voluntary Arts Week Facebook

page - www.facebook.com/voluntaryartsweek and by

following us on Twitter @voluntaryartsweek.

Voluntary Arts Briefings - If youre looking for

information and advice on how to run your event, the

extensive catalogue of Voluntary Arts Briefings could

come in very handy. Theyre all located on Running

Your Group, Voluntary Arts one-stop-shop for all

voluntary groups. There youll find Briefings on

everything from risk assessment to writing a press

release, applying for funding to creating a Facebook

presence. If you havent already signed up for our

FREE Level 1, go to www.runningyourgroup.org.

Your local nation office If youd like to speak to a

member of the Voluntary Arts team about your

involvement in Voluntary Arts Week, then please

contact your local office:

Voluntary Arts England

Tel: 0191 230 4464. Email: [email protected]

Voluntary Arts Ireland

Tel: 028 7127 2501 (from UK) or 048 7127 2501

(from RoI). Email: [email protected]

Voluntary Arts Scotland

Tel: 0131 225 7355. Email: [email protected]

Voluntary Arts WalesTel: 07971 789727. Email: [email protected]

Voluntary Arts Week was initially funded by Legacy Trust UK as

an official part of the cultural celebrations of London 2012, with

the aim of leaving a lasting legacy from the Games. The project

was part of People Making Waves: Make a Splash! which also

received funding support from the National Lottery through

Creative Scotland.



Do you need this publication in an alternative format?Contact T: 029 20 395 395 E: [email protected]

Information contained here may go out of date and you are therefore advised to check its currency.

Updated information may be available on the Voluntary Arts website www.voluntaryarts.org.

Disclaimer: Reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the information in this document is accurate. However, it is not

intended to be legally comprehensive; it is designed to provide guidance in good faith at the stated date but without accepting liability.

We therefore recommend you take appropriate professional advice before taking action on any of the matters covered herein.

Copyright notice: Unless otherwise stated, all material published by Voluntary Arts is subject to copyright. However, we do

encourage members of the voluntary arts sector to copy and disseminate this material for non-commercial purposes.

Prior to doing so, please send details of your requirements to [email protected].

We also require that you acknowledge Voluntary Arts wherever such material is used.

Voluntary Arts is the UK and Ireland development agency for voluntary and amateur arts and crafts.

Visit www.voluntaryarts.org/runningyourgroup for more VA Briefings and other interactive learning materials.

Voluntary Arts, 121 Cathedral Road, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9PHT: 029 20 395 395 E: [email protected] W: www.voluntaryarts.org

The Voluntary Arts Network is registered in Scotland as Company No.139147 and Charity No. SC 020345.Voluntary Arts acknowledges funding from the Arts Council of England, Northern Ireland and Wales, the Big Lottery Fund, National Lottery throughCreative Scotland, Legacy Trust UK, Binks Trust and the Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust. Registered office: 54 Manor Place, Edinburgh EH3 7EH.

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