Fired Up 2024 - Volunteer Information

The lead up to this event is always a huge undertaking for our staff. If you have a few hours spare in the days or months leading up the Fired Up, we’d love your help! Tasks include things like balling up clay for visitor experiences, cutting up bubble wrap for the shop, waxing the bases of raku pieces, and more.

Help set up Watson Arts Centre for the event by tidying and arranging workshop spaces, setting out seating, rigging lights, etc. This will be outside of the event hours of 3-8pm, most likely on Friday 9 August. Or, you can help the team by packing it all down in the evening at the end of the festival!

Do you have great people skills and don’t mind taking charge? We’re looking for a few special volunteers to help coordinate small teams of people. This position may require some additional hours in the lead up to the event (timing flexible).

We’ll also need some staff support on the night, with volunteers helping to greet, assist and direct visitors, and/or supervise the gold coin donation entry fees.

In either role you’ll be working closely with our team of part time staff - a great way to get to know the team and gain a bit of extra industry experience.

Love taking snaps for social media and/or feel comfortable approaching people for portraits? Looking for an event to photograph with a broad range of lighting and activities? Look no further! We’re looking for a handful of photographers to capture the event and its visitors. Volunteers in this position will be asked to provide a link to their social media page/s or an example of their photographs as part of the selection process, and must provide their own camera.

If you thrive in bustling event environments and want to showcase your social media prowess, this position is for you. Volunteers in this position will be given access to Canberra Potters’ Instagram page and asked to keep the public up-to-date with all the event happenings by posting to our feed and stories, and even live-streaming on the night. Confidence with taking photos and experience posting to different areas of Instagram is a must! Volunteers in this position will be asked to provide a link to their Instagram page/s as part of the selection process.

This station has a few different facets. Each year we run a “Soup and Bowl” stall: the premise is people can buy the bowl and we’ll fill it with tasty homemade soup. Yum! There’s also a mulled wine deal, where if you buy a mug from the Canberra Potters Shop we’ll fill it with mulled wine for free. We have an amazing volunteer making the soup and mulled wine, but we’ll need some help serving it. Join this cozy crew and either serve the food and drinks, sell the soup bowls or spend a bit of time on the washing up station.

Under the guidance of an experienced potter, raku volunteers will help fire the raku kilns and assist visitors in glazing their raku pieces before firing. Some experience is required for this position.

Working under the direction of Canberra Potters workshop staff, volunteers in this position will help fire the wood fired petal kiln on the day of Fired Up. See our main event page to learn more about the petal kiln.

Volunteers MUST:

- be able to comfortably bend, squat and pick up firewood of varying sizes in order to load the kiln safely

- be able to follow instruction and coordinate well with others

- wear safe, enclosed footwear and non-flammable, well-fitting clothing

- be comfortable around high temperatures

- attend a WHS induction on how to fire the kiln safely

Minimum commitment – a single two-hour firing session between 8.30am-8pm on Saturday 10 August. Ideally more than one session, with a break in between.

When the kiln hits top temperature, help to open the petals and reveal the glowing sculpture inside! See our main event page to learn more about the petal kiln.

Preference will be given to those who have helped out during the firing.

Volunteers MUST:

- be able to comfortably lift arms above their head while supporting a small amount of weight

- be able to follow instruction and coordinate well with others

- wear safe, enclosed footwear and non-flammable, well-fitting clothing

- be comfortable around high temperatures

- attend a WHS induction on how to fire the kiln safely

Commitment – Must be able to be at Canberra Potters from 6pm until the conclusion of pack down (around 9pm) on Saturday 10 August.

Under the guidance of an experienced potter, ‘Have a Go, Have a Throw’ volunteers will help visitors (pre-booked) create their own wheel-thrown wonders! This is always super popular, so expect to be on your feet for the duration of your shift. Throwing skills required.

Under the guidance of an experienced potter, handbuilding volunteers will help visitors create clay critters in either pre-booked or on-the-day sessions! Basic handbuilding skills required.

You’ll help wherever you’re needed! Floaters will fit in when we need an extra set of hands for a particular event or if someone doesn’t show up to their shift, as well as greeting, assisting and directing visitors. You’ll help us manage and maintain the flow of traffic through the carpark, and help ensure the premises stays tidy.

Exactly what it sounds like! You’ll be wandering around the event selling raffle tickets to visitors. The grand prize is a handmade chicken sculpture made by local artist Jackie Lallemand. You can view the sculpture in the Canberra Potters foyer.