Gallery Committee Volunteer

MAIN GALLERY

The Downriver Council for the Arts’ Gallery Committee volunteers possess a love and appreciation of art, a flexible attitude, and a winning personality, all of which increases the success of our exhibit space. The Gallery Committee is open to anyone interested in promoting the arts by their active participation. The purpose of the DCA Gallery Committee is to promote appreciation and participation of the visual arts by exposing the community to a variety of artistic exhibits. This is accomplished through various forms of programming including exhibits, art classes, and workshops intended to illuminate new perspectives. Inspiring and providing the community audience with pertinent visual art interests is a main goal of the Gallery Committee.

Time commitments (you don't need to be available for every single event):

• Committee members meet monthly for approximately an hour, typically the second Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the gallery, to deliberate and vote on items relating to the operation and use of the gallery space, increase exposure as a strong element within the community, and provide a well-balanced visual arts program for the community. You can also join us online if you are unable to make the meeting in-person. These are most helpful to attend so you are up-to-date on info.
• The committee is primarily responsible for the hanging and placing of our exhibits - those are scheduled on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and happen 1-2 times a month. Dates vary to coincide with exhibits and are agreed upon during our monthly meetings.
• Exhibit receptions happen 1-2 times a month, typically on a Thursday or Friday evening for 2-3 hours. We don’t expect you to attend every event, but would like the Gallery Committee to be represented with a few members each time to assist with set-up or clean-up of refreshments and greet/mingle with attendees.
• You will take a proactive role with future exhibit ideas and setting the schedule. You will receive a schedule for the current year of exhibits and dates.
• Reminders and notices are sent, but ultimately you are responsible for knowing the calendar. We communicate best via a Facebook Group.
• There are more opportunities with the DCA for committee members to participate in art exhibits or sell your work during events.

Responsibilities include:

• Participate in monthly meetings
• Assist with hanging and taking down (rarely) exhibits
• Set-up, attend, and clean-up for receptions
• Greet guests and act as DCA advocates on opening nights and other events
• Recruit other gallery committee members
• Recruit artists and market participation in DCA exhibits and become members (drop off call for entries or flyers at locations, share on your social media)
• Establish, plan and partake in gallery fundraisers (if you choose to)
• Curate exhibitions and ideas (if you choose to)
• Collaborate on programming related to exhibits to provide more exposure for artists
• Other endeavors undertaken by the Gallery Committee
• Give adequate time and energy to the duties required
• You must be able to communicate via email and our private Facebook Group
• Relevant, but not necessary - we would love if you could help with social media or video!

SATELLITE GALLERIES

The Downriver Council for the Arts is committed to connecting art to the community, and another way we accomplish this is by providing off-site exhibit space in unexpected places. Curating in non-traditional spaces provides new opportunities for people to engage with work outside of the context of our gallery, opening this creative engagement to a broader audience. The DCA works with venues ranging from hospitals, restaurants, churches, municipalities and more in several different communities to offer exhibition opportunities to local artists. Typically these exhibits run for a period of 2 -3 months and are installed by members of the DCA Gallery Committee with assistance from the artist(s) and volunteers.