Volunteer
More than a thousand committed people volunteer to help the Cleveland Museum of Art serve our visitors and operate the campus each year. Volunteer contributions range from staffing the information desk and helping prepare special events to working at the annual Parade the Circle. They also include serving as docents for school groups and assisting with curatorial projects. These volunteers range from high school to college students, community leaders to retirees. The common thread is that they all share a commitment to this museum and the community.
Please email volunteer@clevelandart.org for more information regarding the volunteer opportunities listed here. Thank you!
MIX Hosts
The place to be on the first Friday of every month is at a MIX at CMA event. These themed-based happy-hour events feature nationally and internationally acclaimed musical performers and DJs, dancing, cocktails, and gallery tours. The evening begins at 5:00 p.m. and kicks off the weekend for thousands of Clevelanders each month! Volunteers are needed to greet and direct attendees.
Usher Corps
If you enjoy world-class music, performance, and film, this opportunity might be something for you. A seasonal listing would be sent to you so you can sign up for what best fits your schedule. Volunteers are asked to offer their assistance for at least six programs per year. Free tickets are available for active ushers. Training provided.
Exhibition Volunteers
If you would like to volunteer during our busy exhibition times, you might want to consider signing up as an exhibition volunteer. Duties include hosting at exhibition events and assisting with the audio tours and/or assisted-listening devices. Active exhibition volunteers receive free exhibition tickets.
Museum Store
Outgoing individuals are needed in the museum store. A customer-service or retail background is desirable. Volunteers are asked to assist on a weekly basis.
Survey Volunteers
Your job would involve intercepting our museum visitors for the purpose of conducting an interview or survey. This intercept gives visitors the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences while here at the museum. Surveys and interviews are conducted frequently during special exhibitions.
Chalk Festival
Held in September
Individuals, families, schools, and neighborhood groups are all invited to participate at this community arts event. Featured chalk artists demonstrate their creativity to a captive audience, and the sounds of musical groups Moko Bovo and Gato’s Gullah Gumbo can be heard throughout the event. Volunteers are needed to assist check-in at our registration table, help direct participants to their squares, and sell T-shirts and posters. Guaranteed fun for everyone! Free parking is provided in the museum garage.
Winter Lights Lantern Festival and Annual UCI Holiday Circle Fest
Held on the first Sunday in December
Volunteers may take part in the fun and excitement of our annual Winter Lights Lantern Festival by helping visitors make lanterns in our family workshops, greeting visitors in the lobby, assisting as way finders, and helping at the volunteer sign-in table or the lantern ticket table. Sixty volunteers are needed to help make this event a success.
Docent Program
The docent program is a volunteer teaching service organized by the museum’s public and academic engagement team. Docents interact with visitors and create lasting memories through tours of the finest artistic and cultural traditions represented in our collection. They act as an important liaison between the museum’s collection, visitors, and staff.
Each year, docents lead more than 15,000 visitors through the museum for tours that highlight the permanent collection and special exhibitions, as well as on customized tours designed for adult and school groups. Docents are active members of the museum and are offered free parking and coffee and discounts in our café and store. These dedicated volunteers have been an integral part of the museum’s public and academic engagement efforts since 2000.
Training involves working with public and academic engagement staff on interactive teaching techniques and attending lectures by museum curators focusing on aspects of the permanent collection galleries and overviews of special exhibitions.
Currently, the museum is not accepting new docents. Please fill out the Docent Interest Form below to be notified once docent training resumes.