Gerrit's story

A heart for the City Museum The City Museum is located in the old town hall. The permanent collection of the City Museum Woerden focuses on the art and cultural history of Woerden and the Green Heart. In addition, there are regular temporary exhibitions, such as the KoEsterd exhibition, about cows in art, and of course the pop-up exhibition in the context of the Koeiemart. Gerrit, together with fellow volunteer Piet, took care of the layout of these temporary exhibitions. “A buddy of mine at the table tennis club hinted that volunteering at the City Museum might be something for me. Art didn't interest me in the past, but I became more and more interested in it. I signed up and started as a 'host'. That is the person who sits at the counter and receives people. As a host you learn a lot about the history of the building, the permanent collection and you are constantly updated about the new exhibitions. This way you can answer the questions of the visitors properly. In addition to hosts, there are also volunteers who provide guided tours and people in the depot help classify the works or take care of the art in the public space. In total, more than forty volunteers are active at the City Museum. In addition, there are three paid employees; the manager/director, the curator and the floor manager.” After such a big job has been completed I feel quite proud! “Because I'm pretty handy, I went to help with the technical jobs. So over time I got involved in the task of realizing the temporary exhibitions. The galleries must first be emptied, the walls repainted, the new works hung up, the spotlights set, and so on. Of course, the curator is the one who decides how the rooms will be divided, but if Piet and I see it differently, we can discuss it with each other.” “I once started here as a host for three half-days a month. In September I have been here almost every day. The new exhibition in the City Museum and the temporary exhibition in the context of the Koeiemart in the pop-up location in Rijnstraat had to be completed. But I do that with great pleasure. And after such a big job has been completed, I secretly feel a bit proud!” The city museum is always looking for new volunteers. You can register per month which parts of the day you would like to work; a very flexible system. For vacancies and more information, visit: https://www.stadsmuseumwoerden.nl/over-het-stadsmuseum/vacatures Share these stories and inspire others to help too! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whatsapp Forward

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