Image (above) from Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Journal,15/1, (1998), p.33: "Art Sales and Rental Society Volunteer Leona Freeman, AGNS Board Vice-Chair Elizabeth Ryan and ASRS volunteer Mary Maddox relax momentarily before the opening of the very successful ASRS Antiques and Art Sale in January."
By Carol Kehoe
This April 19-25 we celebrate National Volunteer Week, and in our 50th Anniversary year we want to recognize how volunteers have been instrumental to the organizing and advancement of the Art Sales and Rental Society (ASAR), which operates Teichert Gallery.
Volunteers across our community create economic value, a sense of belonging, and encourage personal growth. Arts volunteers play a vital role in keeping creative communities alive, accessible, and sustainable.
At Teichert Gallery, upwards of 20 volunteers in any given year assist staff in maintaining the collection onsite, interacting with artists on the delivery and return of their art, and organizing special events and promotion. Over 50 years, nearly 200 individuals have contributed volunteer hours to operating Teichert Gallery.
“In those early days, we were trying to build something quite new to this area,” says Suzanne Milledge, whose earliest work with ASAR dates back to 1972, when the Society’s temporary residence was within Halifax’s Fort George (Citadel Hill). In 1976, Suzanne and four other women lent their names to ASAR’s formal incorporation. Suzanne now laughs at how perilous it was, with a one-year-old in tow, juggling large artworks across the parade ground; somehow avoiding having either become airborne on a cold and blustery winter’s day.
“I remember feeling it was a wonderful idea to support the opening of a permanent art gallery, by renting and/or selling pieces to members of our business community, and to so many appreciative individuals,” she says.
Suzanne credits Irma Teichert with rallying volunteers to create ASAR. “Irma had had experience with a similar model in California, and was passionate in wanting it to take root here in Halifax. For my part, it was such a pleasure for me to meet the artists, to see their work, and to support their creativity,” she adds.
ASAR volunteers act as ambassadors, welcoming guests into the gallery and highlighting information about exhibitions. “Our volunteers enjoy learning about and interacting with the more than 150 artists we promote in the gallery and working with the community to foster an interest in original art, either through purchase or rental,” says Teichert Gallery Executive Director Andrea Smith. “They’re also dedicated in their support of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia,” she says, confirmed by another long-time volunteer, Elizabeth Ryan.
Elizabeth is well recognized in the HRM artistic community. She was celebrated recently by the AGNS as its longest-serving volunteer and has been a board member for Symphony Nova Scotia and AGNS, as well as a supporter of Neptune Theatre, University of King’s College and Dalhousie Alumni Association, among others.
Born in Windsor, NS, Elizabeth’s first exposure to art was in an after-school program while attending Mount Saint Vincent Academy. Later, newly married and working as a public-school teacher, Elizabeth began volunteering at the AGNS, formalizing that to one day a week after her son was born in 1977.
During those early years, Elizabeth’s volunteer activities included organizing special events, library management, research, exhibition tours and organizing outside-the-province trips, particularly to Ontario, to visit private and public art galleries.
Elizabeth explains how she and Alice Hoskins formalized a volunteer group when the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia was situated on Coburg Road to assist employees in the advancement of the AGNS, legislated in 1975 as the provincial art institution. “I called the Volunteer Director at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and asked her for help in setting up a volunteer group,” says Elizabeth. “She sent me, by mail – no computers – information for getting started, which was very helpful. I went on CBC Radio to talk about what we were doing and to invite anyone interested to come to a Wednesday evening meeting. We were delighted by the wonderful response.”
In 1976, ASAR was incorporated, and Elizabeth would participate in what was the region’s only art rental program, helping her good friend Suzanne Milledge. Today, Elizabeth continues to volunteer with ASAR, doing committee work. “I’ve enjoyed every minute working in the arts for this community,” she says.
A special shout-out to current volunteers: Parag Anand, Leslie Aver, Margaret-Anne Bennett, Bobbi Boudreau, Sharon Brundige, Charlotte Cochran, Sarah Douglas, Alexa Doyle, Lidia Gazewska, Leah Hamilton, Annette Henderson, Elizabeth Jay, Carol Kehoe, Braden Marshall, Carolyn Oxner, Patricia Pace, Elizabeth Ryan, Shaelyn Sampson, Cathy Stewart.
Carol Kehoe joined ASAR as a volunteer in October 2024 and is currently Chair of the Board of Directors.