The ‘arty’ business transaction: volunteering at PINTA

So, what about the experiences of volunteers at ‘arty’ yet business-orientated events? In 1983 Stephen Hatch (p.7) asserted that with the absence of “material rewards”, motivations of volunteers are a lot less straight forward than those of paid employees. In the context of volunteers working at business events in the arts, this is undoubtedly so, especially as business events will often be ‘for-profit’, or will aim to raise funds (Herbst and Norton, 2007), and not necessarily towards a charitable cause. Rather, as Kristina and Natasha have already noted, in today’s competitive job market, many (increasingly, students and graduates) are opting to take on voluntary roles to gain ‘competitive advantage’ in their preferred (and often desirable) industry (Jago and Mair, 2009, p.67). So how does this translate into the experiences of volunteers?

This week we’ve been focussing on art fairs. Jeanne Alexandre, an Arts Management and PR student at London Metropolitan University, volunteered at PINTA, a contemporary Latin American art show held in London and New York every year, in 2011.

HM: Tell me a bit more about PINTA.

JA: PINTA is a contemporary modern American arts festival, so it’s an art fair displaying art and has been running for five or six years now… there are two stations, one in London and one in New York. The offices are in Miami, so the first was held in New York and then they moved to London. They have a very niche market, as [PINTA] only focuses on artists from Latin America.

HM: How did you find out about the volunteering opportunities at PINTA?

JA: I found an advert on Small World, which is similar to Facebook. I found out about Small World through a friend. I applied and then I had a Skype interview because the manager was abroad…it went well and I started working for them.

HM: Is it specifically for those interested in the visual contemporary arts?

JA: Yes, it’s an art fair, so I guess it’s about the galleries and bringing the collectors to the galleries to sell art.

HM: What were your roles and responsibilities? What was required of you?

JA: For my first experience, I was placed on the VIP desk and I was doing the guest list with a PR manager…basically, they didn’t really require much from me apart from being presentable, being there, smiling, working the VIP desk…and doing whatever they wanted doing.

HM: In your opinion, where you given too much, too little or just enough responsibility to start with?

JA: I knew I didn’t want to do VIP from the start, the role didn’t fit me, but they don’t know you so they have to be able to trust you and get to know you a bit first.

HM: What did you enjoy most?

JA: Meeting people I guess, being ‘inside’ something… to be there at the event, as everything is happening in a week and then it’s gone

HM: What was the worst thing / your least favorite about volunteering there?

JA: I can’t remember… nothing really. I wasn’t expecting too much, I just wanted to be inside it, it wasn’t for the money and I was working elsewhere as well, so it was just for the experience really.

HM: What were your initial motivations for volunteering?

JA: Experience, getting to know people, meeting people, the process of how it works, meeting people who know other people…!

HM: Do you feel that your experience at PINTA satisfied your reasons volunteering?

JA: Yes, for this art fair I was really happy to [volunteer].

HM: Was there perhaps anything you got out of the volunteering experience that you weren’t expecting?

JA: Good relations with people, from the first point… I got really close to the manager of the fair and the directors… if they asked me to do something tomorrow then I would because I trusted them and they trusted me… we are all friends, and from a first time I didn’t expect that.

HM: Has the experience led onto employment in any way?

JA: Yes, it led towards paid work at PINTA, like when I first volunteered I was 20-21 [so I have now been working at PINTA for years] and we are all friends so we even see each other outside of the fair.  

HM: Have you volunteered at anything else before and if so how did it differ?

JA: I volunteered for a gallery for about 3-5 months, I really love the gallery so I really wanted to work there… it wasn’t what I expected, it wasn’t paid and sometimes they didn’t pay for my lunch, I wasn’t so much a slave but it was like “will you do this?” and it wasn’t really about the gallery and I didn’t really like the experience.

HM: Did you feel more valued at PINTA then?

JA: Yes

HM: Any tips of advice you’d pass on to anyone wanting to volunteer, or those who are looking for volunteers to help out at ‘arty-business events’?

JA: I would say to people who want to volunteer: do it to learn and get experience…if at one point you’ve been volunteering for a long time and feel you have enough experience I think you should aim for paid work and not be mis-treated, because some employers exploit students [especially]… to attract volunteers they [employers] should promote exciting experiences and praise volunteers at the end.

Jeanne’s experience shows that while the motivations of a volunteer can indeed be complex (Hatch, 1983) in the case of offering skills and time to a business event in the arts, one will certainly seek something in return – almost like an arty business transaction in itself.

For information about PINTA, please click here

References:

Herbst, N. B. and Norton, M. (2007) The Complete Fundraising Handbook. London: The Directory of Social Change. Chapter 16. 

Hatch, S. (1983) Volunteers: Patterns, Meanings and Motives. Herts: The Volunteer Centre.

Jago, L. and Mair, J. (2009) Career Theory and Major Event Employment in Baum, T., Deery, M., Hanlon, C., Lockstone, L. and Smith, K. (eds) People & Work in Events & Conventions: A Research Perspective. Oxford: CABI. Chapter 6.