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signs you'd

make a great

G M 0A volunteer

t0 You're a people person.

The Georgia Museum of Art's volunteers, whether

full-time or part-time and no matter in which area

they assist, work with many people. Docents lead

tours for visitors from four-year-olds to senior

citizens; museum shop workers help find the

pertect gift; interns work with everyone who makes

an exhibition happen; and the Friends of the

Museum throw bang-up fundraisers every year,

with plenty of meetlng and greeting.

You've always loved art.

ll you know art and/or know what you like, your

knowledge is welcome. The Friends of the

lVuseum have a committee devoted to acqui-

sitions, and interns may end up helping to curate

exhibitions or contributino to exhlbitlon cata

logues. Docents take classes in art history and

art interpretation each time the museum changes

exhibitions and learn about contemporary,

decorative, and traditional arts and artists.

You know nothing about art.

Theres no reason t0 feel intimidated because you

didn't major in art history. The museum needs

volunteers in a huge variety of areas, including

public relations, publications, fundraising, and

the finance, education, and membership com-

mittees of the Friends. l{ you can edit, write a

press release, 0perate a cash register, understand

a library {iling system, figure out what makes

pe0ple want to come t0 a museum, or budget

with flair, we want you whether or not you can tell

us Rembrandt's last name.

You need another class for next semester.

Current students at the University of Georgia

can apply for volunteer internship positions and,

occasionally, receive colleoe credit {or them. As

an intern in any of the museums departments,

you'll gain valuable job experience as you learn

from the inside how a multiJaceted nonprofit

organization works.

6. You've heard about the perks.

Students with internships aren't the only ones

who get something concrete 0ut of volunteering

at the museum, The Friends ol the Museum

receive bi-monthly newsletters, a discount on

Museum Shop items, invitations t0 previews and

parties, and art-related travel opportunities (from

a road trip of a lew h0urs t0 crossing the Atlantic).

Docents, who are required to join the Friends, also

get a copy of each museum-published catalogue,

and all volunteers have a chance to win the Smitty,

the 0scar Ior museum volunteers.

5. You're a veritable 0ld Faithfu of new ideas.

Fresh faces and fresh ideas are always in demand

at any organizatlon, and the museum embraces

those individuals who can (and regularly do) think

outside the box. As the museum begins its next

half-century in operation, it needs new blood to

invigorate it, and volunteers often bring unique

ways ol solving problems with them.

You aren't lying when you say you like children

The department of education continually needs

volunteers for its Family Days (Saturday morning

art events for kids), as well as the many other

events that they plan. Docents who would adore

explaining modernist painting to a tour group of

fourth-graders are few and Iar between, so if thats

your idea of a perfect morning or afternoon,

come on in.

You have the enthusiasm of Regis Philbin.

The bigger your smile when immersed in a

project, the greater the degree ol excitement you

can work up lor special events, and the better you

leel alter a job well done, the more the Georgia

Museum of Art wants you as a volunteer.

2. You have Georgia on your mind.

As representatives of the official state museum

of art, the museum's volunteers, whether sixth-

generati0n Southerners or originally hailing

from the other side ol the world, should want

to make Georgia and the Georgia Museum of

Art an example to 0ther states as a center 0l

art and culture.

.1. Just think of yourself as a phiianthropist.

Although the definition ol volunteering includes

n0t getting paid, the museum hopes you'll gain

non-monetary rewards from helping out: lile

experience, job experience, new friends, and

plenty of fond memories.

The Georgia Museum of Art

90 Carlton Street

Athens, Georgia 30602

www.uga.edu/gamuseum

VOLUNTEER AT THE

GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART

For lnformation on joining the Friends ol the

Museum, call 542-0830

For inlormation 0n v0lunteering in the museums

library, call 542-4662.

For information on internships, call the lntern

C oo rd i nator al 5 42-2303.

For information on becoming a docent, call the

department ol education al 542-0448.

For inlormation on volunteering in the Museum Shop,

call the museum shop manager at 542-0450.

0n the cover: Museum lounder Alfred H. Holbrook,

the original GM0A volunteer.