Frequently Asked Questions

YofA stands for Year of Arts. It is an annual educational programme that offers holistic learning, confidence building and well-being elements through art. Year of Arts CLG is a not-for-profit social enterprise, which means that any money generated by YofA goes back into the organisation for further development and to benefit it's participants and communities. YofA offers workshops, retreat days, an annual exhibition, an online learning platform including an art hub, podcast and online curriculum. YofA stands apart from other arts programmes due to its holistic approach and focus on innate creativity in lieu of replication.

At YofA we engage volunteers to support our staff and programme in multiple different ways. So whether you are interest in a hands-on role as (assistant) facilitator or videographer, or you prefer a behind the scenes position like copy writer or social media content creator, we have lots of engaging and challenging opportunities available. For more information and full role descriptions, please keep an eye on our open listings on i-Vol.

Not at all! While an interest in art is great, the main requirement is enthusiasm, reliability, and a willingness to support others in their creative journey.

As a volunteer, you can gain hands-on experience in community arts and a range of other facets of our organisation. You might also meet like-minded people, develop new skills, and contribute to a meaningful programme that fosters creativity and wellbeing. Joining the YofA family also gives you access to engage with the arts, as we reserve a free or discounted spot for volunteers for most of our events.

The time commitment depends on your availability. We offer positions with time commitments ranging from an hour to 40 hours per week. On occasion we might also offer roles for a single event. As all volunteers receive a time investment for training from YofA, we ask for a minimum commitment of three months for all roles excluding any once-off event-specific roles. We do ask you to honour the time commitment you have agreed to when joining our organisation.

Volunteers must be at least 15 years old, though most opportunities require a minimum age of 18. If you are under 18 and interested in getting involved, please let us know—there may be other opportunities available.

No formal qualifications are required. However, experience in community work, facilitation, the arts, or anything directly related to your role is always a plus!

Yes! Volunteers will receive an orientation session covering YofA’s approach, workshop structure, and best practices for supporting participants or back-end processes.

If you have a general interest in getting involved with YofA, you can fill out our online volunteer application form on the website. We’ll then get in touch to discuss available opportunities. For specific available roles keep an eye on our listings with Volunteer Ireland.

Possibly. The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 provide a statutory basis for the vetting of persons carrying out relevant work with children or vulnerable persons. The Act stipulates that a relevant organisation shall not permit any person to undertake relevant work or activities on behalf of the organisation, unless the organisation receives a vetting disclosure from the National Vetting Bureau in respect of that person. This means that if your role involves working directly with young or vulnerable participants, you will need Garda Vetting. If this is the case, we will guide you through the Garda Vetting process.

Yes! We’re happy to provide references and support students or professionals looking to gain experience in the arts, with community engagement or in the not-for-profit and social enterprise sectors.

Your coordinator can provide you with the answers to most of your questions. If your question proves to be a challenge to answer, please feel free to email leadership directly [contact@yofa.ie].