You don’t need to be an art expert to volunteer at Watts Gallery. Alan, who has been part of the team for around five years, came to volunteering with an interest in learning rather than a background in art.
Alan heard about the opportunity through the local University of the Third Age (U3A) art history group. He had joined U3A because he wanted to explore new subjects, and when the opportunity to volunteer at Watts Gallery came up, he thought it sounded like a good fit.
Today, he volunteers as a steward and leads guided tours. Alan has developed a real passion for the stories behind the Gallery’s collection, but his volunteering began simply with curiosity and a willingness to get involved.
One of the things Alan enjoys most about being a volunteer is the people he meets.
Visitors bring their own knowledge, experiences and observations to the Gallery, and Alan explains that his interactions with visitors regularly make him look at familiar works in completely new ways.
“You’ve been looking at this thing for five years, every week, and they tell you something new you haven’t seen before. It’s incredible.”
While stewarding in the historic gallery a visitor asked Alan about the feet in George Watts’s paintings. What started as a simple question turned into 15 minutes of looking closely at the artworks together and developing a theory that Watts painted just three different types of feet.
“Everybody’s got one of A, B or C feet,” he laughs.
Another visitor asked about the frames surrounding the paintings. Frames had never particularly caught Alan’s attention before, but after discussing them with the visitor, he found himself looking at them differently.
“I wasn’t interested in frames,” he admits. “But then actually, I am interested in frames. They’re fascinating now.”
For him, these unexpected conversations are one of the best things about volunteering. There is always the possibility that a visitor will notice something you haven’t seen before.
Over the years, volunteering has also given Alan the opportunity to explore his own growing interest in art and history.
After retiring from a career in IT, Alan decided he wanted to learn something completely different.
“I knew nothing about art; I knew nothing about history. I wanted to know about these things.”
He joined the U3A history group and then the art history group, and his curiosity has continued to grow. He particularly enjoys researching exhibitions before he guides them, attending talks and following up on the stories he discovers.
“What fascinates me is storytelling. These are objects that tell the stories.”
Alan especially enjoys the temporary exhibitions because they open up a wide range of subjects. From the Pre-Raphaelites to Victorian wallpaper, each one offers another route into the history and culture of the period.
Alan’s research can sometimes lead him down unexpected paths. While looking at a painting of the Ionides family, for example, he discovered that the young girl depicted in the work later became an artist herself.
“I’ve got to study her now,” he says with a laugh.
G F Watts, Alexander Constantine Ionides and his Wife Euterpe with their Children, 1840, oil on canvas
It’s not only visitors but fellow volunteers and creatives who have played an important part in Alan’s journey.
Some of our incredible Watts Gallery volunteers have a wealth of knowledge about the history of the Gallery and its collection. “People are always willing to share their knowledge” Alan says of his volunteer colleagues.
There are also opportunities to get involved in special events. Attending the exhibitions preview events, has given Alan the chance to talk with artists, creatives and other guests. One memorable occasion was the Victorian Virtual Reality exhibition, when musician and artist Brian May visited to talk about his collection of stereoscopic photographs.
“You get to meet these people, and to meet creatives as well, and see what they like.”
Alan’s enthusiasm for learning has inspired some ideas of his own. With his background in IT and an interest in artificial intelligence, he has been thinking about how technology could be used to bring George Watts to life.
His idea is to create an AI avatar version of George Watts who you could talk to, about his paintings, his life and his ethos of art for all.
“He [George Watts] will tell you, ‘You’re not spending long enough looking at my paintings. You’ve got to study them more!’”
Alan doesn’t have an overall favourite artwork at Watts, but his favourite story is Paolo and Francesca, and Watts’s interpretation of the tragic lovers from Dante’s Inferno.
“If I wasn’t doing guiding, I’d probably lead the mini object talks about those two.”
George Frederic Watts, Paolo and Francesca, 1872-4
If you’ve been inspired by Alan’s story and have an interest in volunteering, come along to our Volunteer recruitment open morning on Thursday 15 October, 10.30-11.30am.
You don’t need detailed knowledge of art or art history. We’re looking for enthusiastic people who love meeting new people, can welcome visitors with a friendly smile and have an interest in becoming part of the Watts Gallery community.
Come along and find out about how you can get involved. As Alan discovered, you never know where your curiosity might lead.