Danielle Tipton is a young volunteer at The Wilson Museum and Gallery in Cheltenham. We caught up with her to find out why, and how, she got into volunteering in the first place and what it means to her.

Q. Most people think volunteers are older but you are very young. How old are you?

Yes that’s true! I am only 23 years old

Q. What is your volunteering role at The Wilson?

I’m in the Marketing & admin dept – assisting in there. I started as a steward before moving in to the Marketing Dept. So, when we have an exhibition coming in or a First Thursday event I help with the planning. I could be painting the gallery or making a collage. It’s very hands on.

Q. What were you doing before you started volunteering?

A couple of months before I started volunteering, I had just finished my BA in Photography in Hereford. I wasn’t sure what to do next and I was very bored. I was feeling anxious and lonely after finishing my Art Degree.

Q. How did you find out about volunteering?

Well I wanted to find a way to do an MA at Royal College Art and I was working with a navigator developer at GEM* to help me make that happen (GEM help people like me with very severe dyslexia which impacts on my learning). She mentioned volunteering at The Wilson.

(The GEM Project aims to engage with and support individuals within Gloucestershire who are currently dealing with circumstances that are potentially causing barriers to work and move these people closer towards education, training, volunteering or work, including self-employment. Read more here)

Q. What did you think of that idea?

I was not keen on it at all! – I had the idea that volunteering was just for retired old people and wondered what I could get out of it. But I was bored and not doing anything so I thought it would better than doing nothing! But it wasn’t anything like that when I got there!

Q. What do you think volunteering has given you?

It has boosted my confidence. I had been in education all my life – and never been in the outside world. I’ve had an insight into workings of the gallery – what goes on behind the scenes. My favourite part has been being able to create without a reason – I mean without a deadline or specific aim. Here I have free rein to come up with ideas and if the team like them I can just get on with it – I have the talent to do that. So I might be asked to paint a picture on the wall – we come up with ideas and then check with the boss and if she likes it we can just do it. It’s great!

Q. What do you outside of volunteering?

I’ve really enjoyed having a year when I have not had to do work to deadlines – but I have made lots of work already and I have used the year to get that work into small exhibitions in galleries and pubs.

Q. Would you advise others to volunteer?

Absolutely. I definitely think that for artists with anxiety specifically, volunteering is the perfect opportunity. You don’t have the stress of the paid role. “Are they going to fire me?” You are in a nice environment and it boosts your confidence. You can meet other people in a similar situation. And that can be good for your social life. When you feel anxious you are not sure how to get into the world – this is a step in. And over time as you spend more time there, your anxiety will reduce.

Q. Do you feel that you are more likely to get paid work in the arts and cultural sector now you have this experience (or paid work full stop?)

Yes – I like to think so! I know so much more now about that environment. I know how to go about setting up an exhibition space or get more artists involved. And it looks good to take time out of your life to volunteer – it shows you are committed to what you want to do. I think volunteering shows how determined you are as a person. You really want to be there.

Q. How would you like to grow your relationship with the Create Gloucestershire network – what other support do you think you need?

It would be good to have opportunities to make contact with other artists that might be a bit further on in their career. Also to give us a platform. The Wilson has been great for that too and given me a lot of opportunities – I have exhibited my work here and they promote that but also I had an exhibition in a local restaurant and the Wilson team supported me by posting about it on social media.

The last thing I want to say that is important is that I don’t feel like a volunteer. I feel like the rest of the staff – we all interact and work together. And it feels good to be part of that team.

Danielle Tipton – Photographer and Volunteer at the Wilson