Volunteer at the Museum

Volunteering at the Holburne  

Make connections, meet interesting people, learn something new. Get involved and gain a wealth of experience.

Volunteering at the Holburne is open to everyone who has a passion or interest in art, history and heritage. Our team is made up of wide demographic and everyone can learn and develop at their own pace.

Our volunteer programme offers a friendly environment in which to socialise and make new friends. We programme monthly social and learning events designed specifically for our volunteers. These ensure we maintain a high level of welcome and visitor satisfaction across the entire Museum.

We offer monthly training and social sessions to keep you up to date with everything that is happening in the Museum.

Through an interview and informal discussion our volunteers can nominate other areas within the Museum in which to be involved. We encourage a greater involvement to ensure continued learning, enhancement of skills and personal development through engagement and commitment to the Museum and its collection.

Front of House Volunteers
The majority of volunteers work within galleries as Gallery Stewards. They assist with visitor questions and queries whilst keeping a watchful eye on our precious collection being aware that balancing their time between visitor service and collection security is vital to the role. It’s a great way to meet new people and make new friends.

Learning Volunteers
As a Learning & Engagement volunteer at The Holburne Museum, you can help shape and inspire the next generation of makers and learners. Our programme targets primary, secondary and higher education groups, families, young people, adults, local community groups and more, promoting art and making at its core. Our volunteers are key to the success of our workshops and activities, on hand to offer support, guidance and a warm welcome to activity participants, working closely with learning staff and freelance artist team.

The Holburne Future Collective (Young Volunteers 15 – 25)  is a brand-new ambitious project for young Volunteers run by young Volunteers aged 15 – 25. Through this group, our young volunteers can gain a wealth of experience to help with confidence, enhance their C.V’s and gain work experience essential to securing work in the sector. The Holburne Volunteer Collective meet once a month and contribute blog posts for our website and social media channels, as well as programming and running UP LATES throughout our season. (If you are interested in the Collective email Spencer Hancock at s.hancock@holburne.org)

To apply, please fill in the application form on this page

For information about the Holburne Volunteer programme and future recruitment please contact, Spencer Hancock at s.hancock@holburne.org

All of our staff members know the importance of the Volunteer Programme at the Holburne Museum, which is why it is so successful; we have the full support of our Learning department, Curatorial Department, our Board of Directors and of course our Director Chris Stephens.

Before creating a job specific role for a Volunteer we ensure that there is a clear and concise Role profile for that individual.

What Volunteering means to us 

The roles undertaken by volunteers here at the Museum are considered some of the most important across the organisation. The role a volunteer undertakes allows us to offer the highest quality of visitor experience whilst involving the local community in our work. Without the support of volunteers the Museum would not be able to deliver the range of events, exhibitions, education workshops and care for our collection that we produce. Whether you are able to offer a few hours a month or a day or two a week it is your time and energy that makes the Holburne Museum one of the most exciting, innovative and engaging museums in the country.

Why We Volunteer

What do I like best about volunteering at the Holburne ?  Having the chance to share the Museum with the public, to share some of the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, to have contact with the children who come with schools and families, to get closer to all these wonderful things on display, and learn about them – where does it end ?  I just have a really lovely time

Trish Tassis

I feel that my experience at the Holburne is really improving my chances of securing an assistant curatorship role. However, I know that, when I finally land that job, I will be very sad the leave the Holburne, its staff and volunteering team. I would be the first to recommend to anybody interested in museums and art to take up a volunteering post here.

Ben Hill 

Personally, I gain too much to put into words, but I enjoy every moment. From Collection cleaning to talking to visitors to leaning about the new exhibition. But, and this happen on Monday – a new volunteer was on her second shift with us. I introduced her to the highlights of the Picture Gallery. She made many notes as I took her around. Afterwards she thanked me with a huge smile. What else could one ask for

John Green