Holding festivals and exhibitions: what cultural volunteers do in Moscow

The cultural volunteering has been developing in Moscow for several years. Thanks to this, Moscow residents can participate in organizing theater and film festivals, digitizing library collections, holding exhibitions and forums.

“Today, more than 21,000 volunteers are involved in the art scene of the Russian capital; they help theaters, museums and estates to pay attention to each visitor. Taking care of tourists, they provide a hospitable atmosphere in the city. Thanks to the variety of venues, Muscovites can choose what they like and find like-minded people,” said Natalya Sergunina, Deputy Moscow Mayor.

Cultural volunteers coordinate visitors during theater festivals and film screenings. In addition, they develop new and improve existing itineraries, organize tours and escort Moscow visitors.

Another area of activity is the cultural heritage preservation. Volunteers take care of monuments, help specialists restore historical sites, transcribe audio materials and archival documents. For some of them, this is the first step towards a future profession.

To learn more, take a thematic online course.

Join the team

You can apply for the cultural volunteer program on the website of the Mosvolonter resource center. Anyone aged over 14 can join it.

Most of the participants are Moscow residents aged 19–35 (35.4 per cent) and citizens aged 36–54 (28.6 per cent). Young people aged from 14 to 18 make up 22.3 per cent, another 13.7 per cent are people over 55. Women (76 per cent) are more interested in the cultural voluntary work than men are.

Which organizations welcome volunteers

A number of city organizations, including the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage and VDNKh, have their own volunteer centers.

The Victory Museum center has been working for more than five years; it employs about 80 people, but much more Muscovites are involved in the institution’s activities. Over 150 moderators participate in the Faces of Victory project alone.

“Now we are looking for assistants for the May holidays. A lot of events are scheduled for this period: master classes, thematic events, concerts and much more,” says Elena Kizyakova, coordinator of the volunteer center at the Victory Museum.

The museum has developed a motivation program for active Muscovites, giving them branded souvenirs, organizing branch visits, tours, quizzes and film screenings.

The Ostankino and Kuskovo museum-reserves have been attracting volunteers for annual clean-ups, creative events, festivals and concerts for more than three years. They are open to everyone, no special training is required.

“In May, we are looking for assistants to hold the educational event known as Night of Museums”. More than 10,000 visitors are expected. We need your support,” says Ksenia Mikhalevskaya, a researcher at the museum-reserve.