Opportunities

Vinyl Archive on shelves

We currently have volunteer opportunities for both Event Assistants and Archive Assistants.

Event Assistant

True Form Projects (TFP) is looking for enthusiastic volunteers who can help us with our events across the midlands. We are a living archive of South Asian music and heritage, which began with 3,000 records from the iconic Oriental Star Agencies archive.

We hold a range of public events from listening sessions to art workshops in local libraries, community centres, universities to art spaces, bringing new and bold work related to the archive to audiences across Birmingham and beyond. We have a commitment to making this archive accessible, to new audiences, and to providing supportive and welcoming experiences to engage with the archive.

Our aim is to recruit passionate individuals to support our upcoming events – this could involve supporting artists on the day, welcoming and guiding audiences, chatting to audiences about our work and helping set up the space.

Our ideal candidate will:

  • Have an interest in South Asian and South Asian Diasporic music and culture
  • Happy to chat to audiences and artists/facilitators
  • Have an interest in the decolonising museums discourse (this includes learning more about what the decolonising discourse involves and what it means to TFP)

Tasks and responsibilities:

  • Attending half a day of training (this will include our meeting our team and other volunteers, learning about our journey and our values, the expectations and potential roles for each event)
  • Helping us document events (this could include taking photos, making notes from conversations with audiences and collecting feedback)
  • Assisting with event set-up
  • Provide a warm and welcoming environment for audiences

A typical volunteer session will be:

  • Meeting at the event venue at an agreed time (depending on set up, this could be 1 hour to 30 minutes before the event)
  • A short briefing by a TFP and venue staff member
  • Assigned your role (this may be dependent on information you’ve provided us regarding your interests and any access requirements)
  • The event itself (most are no longer than 2-3 hours), with plenty of time for breaks in between
  • Assisting in packing away event materials

What to expect from us?

  • Access to our unique and iconic archive
  • Training and networking opportunities
  • An insight into our future events
  • Frequent opportunities to feedback on your experience
  • Travel and food expenses (agreed upon before the event)
  • Lots of tea and biscuits!

How to get involved or find out more about it?

Archive Assistant

True Form Projects is looking for enthusiastic volunteers who can help us with our archive. We are developing a library of South Asian music, starting with the archive of nearly 3000 records saved from Oriental Star Agencies in 2017. 

We have a commitment to making this archive accessible which means cataloguing the data about each unique record. 

Our aim is to recruit a couple of enthusiastic individuals to help us record the remaining archive, document the process of their work and ensure they have a valuable volunteering experience. 

Our ideal candidate will:

  • Be passionate about archives and the processes involved in cataloguing material
  • Have an interest in South Asian and South Asian Diasporic music and culture
  • Have great attention to detail 
  • Keen to develop skills and gain work experience in developing archives 
  • Have experience of working with Google Sheets or a similar web-based spreadsheet
  • Have an interest in the decolonising museums discourse
  • Be able to commit to two or more volunteer sessions at our studio in Birmingham

Tasks and responsibilities:

  • Attending half a day of training with our archive specialists at our studio in Birmingham
  • Handling the archive, collating and inputting relevant data with care and in the correct format
  • Carrying out photography of vinyl records
  • Using professional workflow software
  • Communicating with True Form Projects staff regarding any concerns, issues or uncertainties

A typical volunteer session will be:

  • No more than 2 hours – A maximum of 1.5 hours on the archive, with an additional 30 minutes to learn more about what we do and chat to our team and listen to our collection over tea and biscuits.
  • Will be at our studio at Mission Print, Stirchley, Birmingham 

What to expect from us?

  • Access to our unique and iconic archive
  • Training and networking opportunities 
  • An insight into our future events 
  • Frequent opportunities to feedback on your experience 
  • Lots of tea and biscuits! 

How to get involved or find out more about it?