April 18 to 24 is National Volunteer Week and we’re celebrating by sharing some interviews we conducted with three of our volunteers. Thank you to Jane, Nusaiba and Fraser for sharing your experiences!
Jane Eberhard (Tour Guide, Museum London Phyllis Cohen Volunteer Award Winner 2020)
When did you get involved with Museum London?
I returned to London in 2011 after living many years in Toronto, and an old friend invited me to join the Volunteer Committee at Museum London. While working in the museum shop, I watched the tour guides go by with their school groups and thought what fun that would be. Having had a long career teaching high school, I thought it would be interesting to teach those elementary school groups. When the Volunteer Committee disbanded, I was invited to a meeting of the tour guides.
What was your first impression of Museum London and your volunteer experience?
Amazing! When I went to that first tour guide meeting I was hit with all the positive vibes in the room! Everyone was so happy to be there together. It's a very positive and cohesive group, always interested in learning more about the exhibitions and how to present them well.
Why did you choose to volunteer at Museum London?
My own educational background is in Visual Arts and History, and when I first got involved, I had just retired from teaching, which I loved. Perfect fit.
What is your favourite part of your volunteer role?
First, I thrive on teaching. Every tour group is different, giving me new responses and interpretations of the exhibitions. Teaching is learning! Secondly, the tour guides are very special people, and I've made some good friends.
Can you please tell me about some of the people you've met volunteering?
Something that stands out for me is meeting many of the Syrian refugees who came to London a few years back. These were adult ESL classes coming for tours to boost cultural adaptation and language skills, and also Syrian children who were integrated into elementary school classes. All impressed me with their bravery and motivation to adjust to a new life after a long struggle.
What motivates you to stay involved?
Aside from all the wonderful people I come in contact with, I'm also happy to keep up my own skills - in art, history, and studio. I should mention too, how well run the education program is, under the Curator of Education, Steve Mavers. He holds the program together - calmly, creatively, and tirelessly.
What have you learned since volunteering at Museum London?
I learn something new every time we have a new exhibition, be it art or local history, because we tour guides have the good fortune to have a tour with the curator of the show to brief us on what we can talk about with our tour groups.
Nusaiba Al-Azem (Museum London Board Member)
When did you get involved with Museum London?
I got involved with Museum London in 2019.
What was your first impression of Museum London and your volunteer experience?
My first impression was that it was full of kind hearted people with a genuine love of the arts.
Why did you choose to volunteer at Museum London?
I chose to volunteer at Museum London because I love the history, art and culture that’s preserved through Museums and as a native Londoner, am invested in the narratives told in this region particularly.
What is your favourite part of your volunteer role?
My favourite part of the volunteer role is learning new things about this community that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about!
Can you please tell me about some of the people you've met volunteering?
I’ve met tons of the staff at Museum London who are wonderful, the other directors who I’ve gotten to know, community members who sit on committees and those who show up to public events – they all form part of the beautiful fabric at Museum London.
What motivates you to stay involved?
Taking my nephews and nieces and family members to the programs at Museum London and watching them enjoy the interactive displays are always a huge highlight for me that keeps me going.
What have you learned since volunteering at Museum London?
It’s certainly established a newfound appreciation for curating art and all of the many factors that go into maintaining a Museum of this level! With every program, I learn a little bit more about the rich art and culture history in the Middlesex region.
Fraser Brown (Retail & Art Sales Assistant, Museum London Emerging Volunteer Award Winner 2019)
When did you get involved with Museum London?
I first began volunteering at Museum London in April 2018.
What was your first impression of Museum London and your volunteer experience?
First impressions of Museum London were how close knit a group it was! I started volunteering in the gift shop and some volunteers were leaving for new opportunities, but so enthusiastic they were helping train us, assured us it was a fantastic place, and their energy was contagious! You could see how the team really cared about each other.
Why did you choose to volunteer at Museum London?
Volunteering at Museum London was a way to give back to the arts after completing an honours degree in studio art in the Niagara Region. I wanted to further my involvement with art communities. As the leading contemporary gallery in the London region, and the gift shop providing the opportunity to meet local artists in London, it was an opportunity I jumped on!
What is your favourite part of your volunteer role?
The best part about volunteering at Museum London is being part of a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive community that raises awareness for important social causes, especially during turbulent times. Museum London has provided me the opportunity to meet Kent Monkman, an exhibiting artist at Museum London last summer.
Can you please tell me about some of the people you've met volunteering?
While volunteering in the Shop at Museum London, it has been a pleasure to talk about the importance of visual culture with Dr. Christopher Mackie who has shown true leadership as CEO of the Middlesex London Health Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Mayor Ed Holder who has overcome numerous challenges leading the city over recent years.
How has your experience at Museum London influenced you?
Museum London has influenced me as a constant reminder to take on an artist's perspective in everyday life, both in finding the beauty but also to advocate for change and never settle for the status quo. The Annual General Meeting in 2019 had an excellent keynote on the importance of art in a time for revolution; artists are not afraid to call out inequity, systemic oppression upheld by governments and socially constructed norms. Art has been at the foundation for revolution and systemic change by spectacularly highlighting oppression within the public sphere to the point it cannot be ignored.
What have you learned since volunteering at Museum London?
Volunteering at Museum London, partaking in its fantastic programming, and incorporating this artist perspective with a sense of curiosity in everyday life are key skills I have learned with all of you by volunteering at Museum London, and look forward to returning to once it is safe to do so. The artist perspective has been at the forefront of thinking while I finished my post-graduate certificate in Human Resources Management from home during these unprecedented times!
If you would like to find out more about volunteering with us at Museum London, please visit: http://museumlondon.ca/support/volunteer or contact Jordan Brennan, Volunteer Coordinator at 519-661-0333 x 4262 or jbrennan@museumlondon.ca.