Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Volunteer Voices: building volunteer agency in the field of contemporary art in heritage

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rebecca FarleyORCiD, Professor Vee Pollock, Judith King, Kiki Claxton

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Volunteers are a key but underexploited resource in advocating for and interpreting the contemporary artworks that are increasingly being commissioned for heritage places. Volunteers are not typically offered any training to help them talk about contemporary artworks with visitors or provided with much background information about the art or artists concerned. Nor is the organisation’s rationale for engaging with contemporary art well-understood by volunteers. While heritage organisations rely heavily on volunteers to provide high quality experiences for their visitors, in failing to adequately prepare volunteers, the full value of investment in a contemporary art project–time, money, organisational input, the creative energy of the artist–might not be properly realised. In this article, which draws on findings from a pilot volunteer training programme conducted in North East England in 2021–2022, we develop existing research into ‘serious leisure’ to suggest the value of building a community of practice through peer-learning that can offer a distinctive experience for volunteers, enhancing both their ownership and agency. We argue for the benefits of knowledge exchange across heritage sites and suggest that volunteers could be at the forefront in improving commissioning and exhibiting practices and visitor appreciation of contemporary art in heritage places.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Farley R, Pollock VL, King J, Claxton K

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Heritage Tourism

Year: 2024

Pages: epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 20/11/2024

Acceptance date: 07/11/2024

Date deposited: 09/12/2024

ISSN (print): 1743-873X

ISSN (electronic): 1747-6631

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2024.2428285

DOI: 10.1080/1743873X.2024.2428285


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
AHRC
AH/V000799/1

Share