Recently held in Toulouse, the Urban Sketchers International Symposium came to into conclusion a few weeks ago. These have been the four (five, if I count the day I volunteered to pack the goodie bag items) busiest days of this year for me. I have never been so physically tired in a long time but I have never been so happy either. Being a volunteer at the symposium is easily one of the best experiences I could possibly have as an artist!
It all started when I wanted to join last year’s symposium in Poznan, Poland, but realized it was already too late for me to register, and that I had other holiday plans as well during that time. You can just imagine how ecstatic I was to find out this year’s symposium was going to be held right where I live!!! And that they would need volunteers. Volunteering for something that I’m passionate about has always been in my blood even when I was still living in the Philippines. I’ve volunteered for ecotourism, education for children, and even for kiddie cancer patients (which was heart-breaking). And now, I’m volunteering for art in one of the most artistic and beautiful places possible.
I applied to be a volunteer for the symposium during the last quarter of 2025, if I remember correctly, and then I heard from them in January saying that I was short-listed, and finally accepted to be one of the sixty lucky volunteers! I was so, so, so happy. We had a couple of meetings after that, and I was also accepted to volunteer for the goodie bags packing, which was so much fun.
We packed the goodie bags on Bastille Day, which is a national holiday here in France. All twenty of us were so excited to unpack the boxes, arrange them properly on the table, form an assembly line, and fill in the yellow bags with all the goodies, all 900++ of them!
We were supposed to finish late in the afternoon, but we finished hours in advance because we were so fast and efficient. Thanks to the help of volunteer coordinator, Amelie Demange and all the admin and staff working with us during that day.
As a volunteer, you get to see the behind-the-scenes of (almost) everything, and also get to know the wonderful people behind the organization, and of course, the faculty. We also get to have our free lunch, and our own lounge / resting area. And of course, all the goodies in the goodie bag from all the sponsors, and more:
As a volunteer, I got to assist in one of the demos and one of the workshops. I also got to attend on one of the workshops. They were all very interesting but I was really too distracted and too tired to follow the workshops and the demos, and I even forgot to bring the proper art materials with me because I always had to rush in the morning, not used to waking up very early and I would be so exhausted coming back home from volunteer work that I would just eat and sleep when I got back home. But still, I was able to sneak in this quick sketch and a watercolor doodle of Saint-Sernin Basilica while assisting a demo from one of the faculties from all over the world, even without my usual plein air painting kit. I made do with the sketchpad that was included in the goodie bag from leuchtturm1917, which they actually engraved with my website URL for free!
I also had a chance to watch Stephanie Bower on her talk about perspective. She also did some book signing one day, and so I brought all my books for her to sign.
There were a lot of other well-known artists there doing the workshops and demos, etc., but I mostly enjoyed assisting Barbara Luel in her demo at Place Wilson. She was the nicest, warmest, most charming faculty member. And I am just so glad to have been assigned to assist her.
I actually did not know that there would be a lot of walking involved, even though I avoided volunteering for the sketchwalks. It was Urban Sketching after all, so I should have expected to walk outside with the faculty and do the sketching / painting plein air!
One of the highlights for me was when we all went up onstage to accept a warm round of applause from everyone during the closing ceremony.
I have never done anything quite like this before. I don’t think I would have the stamina to become a volunteer again, but I think I just might go to the next symposium in Toronto, summer next year. And if I ever do, hope to see you there! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by! Cheers, and have a good week ahead!
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