Light Night Needs You! The Arts Development Team at Leeds City Council are looking for volunteers for the next annual Light Night Leeds festival which will take place 6pm – 11pm on Friday 9th October 2015.

Light Night is a multi-arts and light festival which takes over Leeds city centre on one Friday night. The city’s arts and cultural venues open their doors late into the evening, and artists transform indoor and outdoor spaces into exciting, interactive works of art. It is a celebratory showcase for the huge range of diverse and thriving creative activity taking place in Leeds all year round, giving people free access to art and venues that they might not normally see.  In 2014 approximately 50,000 people attended 67 unique events and performances at 33 different venues.

Being such a large city-wide event, which is increasing in popularity year on year, Light Night relies on a large number of staff and volunteers.  We want to ensure artists and audiences come away from the event having had a great experience, and our volunteers are essential in helping Light Night run smoothly and in creating a fun and exciting festival atmosphere. 

We have various roles available: Artist Support Assistant, Visitor Assistant, Market Research Assistant and Photographer / Videographer.

Light Night  Volunteer Roles

Artist Support Assistant (shifts between 10am – 12 midnight)

As an Artist Support Assistant you will be available to offer the artists and community groups taking part in the night a hand in delivering their projects. This is great for people interested in working with artists or interested in the production side of things.

You will be needed to help set up artwork / installations or performances spaces and take down / pack away equipment.  You may be required to assist audience members in interacting with the piece or getting to their seats, helping to organise any queues, counting and estimating audience numbers across the night and asking audience members for their e-mail addresses so feedback surveys can be sent to them.

Visitor Assistants (shifts between 5.30pm - midnight)

A Visitor Assistant is a varied role. You will be assisting the public to make the most of their evening enjoyably and safely. You may be based outdoors, at key transport links to give visitors event brochures, provide directions and information and answer programme based questions. You may be based indoors assisting the artists on the night, sit with the art project, answer questions about the work, communicate back to the core team any issues, assist audience members in interacting with the piece or getting to their seats, helping to organise any queues, counting and estimating audience numbers across the night.  This is a great option for people looking for experience in event management or customer service.

Market Research Assistant (shifts between 6pm-11pm)

To help us improve Light Night each year we need to get a good understanding of what our visitors think about the event and this is why the role of Market Research Assistant is so important.

You will be asking audience members to undertake feedback surveys on the night and asking people for their e-mail addresses so feedback surveys can be sent to them after the event. You will need to be confident to approach a wide range of visitors to gather feedback information. People may wish to fill out a survey themselves or for you to fill it in for them. We may look for some audience members to be case studies and this would require gathering more detailed information on the night. We may also ask you to note down any verbal feedback or quotes given to you by audiences, venue staff or artists.

Photographers /Videographers (6pm-11pm)

This role is great for anyone interested in, or pursuing a career in, photography, photographic journalism, documentary, or film production. You must have proven experience and skills in this field and you will work with the team on capturing the event through still or moving images. These may be used after the event online or in publications. Please be aware that we cannot pay for the use of photographs or footage, as we have professional photographers working at the event. But we will ensure that all photographs and video clips used are credited, so it is an ideal opportunity for professional development and building up your portfolio.

Please note: All members of the Light Night volunteer team will need to become well acquainted with the festival programme and be prepared to answer general visitor queries such as the location to the nearest toilets etc. You will be representing Light Night and Leeds City Council and we expect you to interact with artists, staff and the public in a professional and friendly manner.

Other volunteer roles

If you would like to volunteer for longer, perhaps to gain more work experience and insight into behind the scenes of a large arts event then do let us know. We may be able to accommodate volunteers in the lead up to the event or in the post event clear up and evaluation stages. These roles could include tasks like distributing marketing materials, helping out in the office with the Arts Development team or working with the Production Manager and technical team.

There is a space where you can state your interest in additional volunteering in your application and do let us know if there are specific areas of experience you are looking to gain as we will try to accommodate requests.

Benefits and Training

All volunteers will be required to attend a briefing session at Leeds Town Hall on the evening of Monday 5th October.  During this time you will meet your Zone Manager and we will give you the training required to fulfil your role.  We’ll provide you with lots of information so you are clear on what is expected of you on the night and so you feel confident in answering questions from members of the public. 

Following the event volunteers will be able to request a reference to confirm their participation and role duties that can be used to help future work or volunteering applications.

Unfortunately we are unable to pay any expenses to our volunteers.