Volunteering in the creative and cultural sectors has been prevalent for decades. Without this support, many small and even large organisations would not be able to reach the audience they need and stay open. 

You may be surprised about the variety of ways you can be involved with volunteering in the creative industry, with roles focusing on backstage assistance, front of house, storytelling, tour guiding, technician roles, workshop facilitation, co-curating, archiving, photography, marketing, content writing, filming, web design, and digital skills.

Many employers will expect prior experience in the sector to even consider an application in the creative industry. The positive thing is that because volunteering is so strong in the sector, employers do not just value paid experience. For some volunteering, the barriers to entry are usually much lower, giving those without experience a welcome foot in the door. Of course, some volunteering can be very skilled and might require specific experience.

However, as the sector runs on volunteering, they will be expecting volunteering on your CV! This is not only for your experience but to understand the sector better, and you may end up managing volunteers yourself in the future! 

The creative sector is also about networking, connections, and building up a portfolio of work, and volunteering can very much help you do that. You want to increase your knowledge of the industry by having experience from a wide range of organisations on your CV, knowing what cultural spaces there are in London, being aware of the creative events and festivals nearby, and understanding how to explore opportunities in the sector.

Volunteering in the arts will only increase your chances to succeed and thrive in the industry. Organisations the Volunteering Team works with are the Royal Opera House, Roundhouse Trust, Spontaneous Theatre Productions, Boston Manor House, Pitzhanger Manor, Musical Museum, Gunnersbury Park Museum, Young V&A, and John Soane Museum.

Where to look for creative volunteering: 

• Arts Jobs
• Reach Volunteering
• Hands on London