Thank you to all of our volunteers for helping us out with Upcycle, our opening and closing receptions and for helping out with gallery installations! We would like to give a special thanks to Mary Gillis who is an extraordinary force transitioning our galleries from start to finish! Thank you Mary! You ROCK!
Thank you to all of our volunteers who were able to attend the Tea with Volunteers meeting on April 30th. It was a hot Spring day, but was nice underneath the shady trees in the Courtyard. Our open discussion was really helpful and allowed the volunteers to speak freely about their ideas and suggestions. We will definitely implement some of those ideas and keep an open door policy with our volunteers because you matter in a major way!
Susan Pulliam
Education Department, Studio Monitor
What is your favorite thing about the Richmond Art Center?
“The amazing weaving studio. I don’t think there is another resource like it in the Bay Area!”
Susan Pulliam, who volunteers as a studio monitor in the ceramics studio, is a weaver at heart. She fell into volunteering “for selfish reasons,” as she puts it — as a way to access studio hours in the Richmond Art Center’s exceptional weaving studio. But since she also shares a passion for ceramics, she soon found herself loading kilns and learning to mix glazes with Shenny Cruces (the Art Center’s former Ceramics Manager) and works in clay herself.
Gene Erickson and Roger Smith
Exhibitions Installation and Logistics Volunteers
How long have you been volunteering at Richmond Art Center? Gene: Since moving up to the East Bay in 2006!
What do you like most about volunteering here? Roger: Everyone here has a sense of what a special resource the Center is for the community and for the artists who show their work here. It’s great to feel a part of that.
Do you always work together as a team? Gene: “Yes, and we are partners in private life too; 25 years!”
Before moving to the East Bay, Gene Erickson and Roger Smith were partners in life, but they pursued completely independent careers. Now the couple has melded their range of talents to become the Richmond Art Center’s dream team of volunteer art handler / installers.
Teresa Philips Administration, Exhibitions and Front Desk Assistant Volunteer
Volunteered over 600 hours since 2010!
What is your favorite thing about volunteering at the Richmond Art Center?
“The opportunity to be around so many positive people!”
Teresa Philips is a familiar and welcoming face at the Richmond Art Center, having volunteered over 600 hours over the past four years working both at the front desk, and in the exhibitions office helping to organize the Center’s archives.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Teresa moved to the East Bay in 1995 and now lives in Richmond Annex. In addition to her role at the Richmond Art Center, she studies business computing at East Bay Works, and also plays tennis. She began volunteering at the Richmond Art Center at the suggestion of a friend. “I was looking for a way to occupy my spare time,” says Teresa, “and my friend told me to check out the Richmond Art Center. I’m really glad I did. There is just a very positive energy here.”
