Gallery Guide

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Gallery Guide volunteer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA)!

Gallery Guides provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for all visitors and are eager to be part of the growth and excitement at the MFA. They engage visitors by guiding drop-in gallery tours and interactive conversations that encourage looking, thinking, and talking about art.

Gallery guiding is a year-round volunteer role. Gallery Guides facilitate thematic drop-in tours throughout the many collections and galleries of the MFA, creating opportunities for visitors to connect with works of art through observation, conversation, and shared discovery. Gallery Guides advance the Museum’s mission by serving both those who are already familiar with art and those for whom art is a new experience through direct encounters with works of art.

Through these encounters, Gallery Guides encourage inquiry and greater cultural awareness by creating space for multiple perspectives and telling fuller, more nuanced stories.

Access Guides are:

• Dedicated to the MFA’s mission and passionate about sharing the Museum’s collection with others.
• Friendly and outgoing team players.
• Thoughtful and collaborative.
• Attentive listeners.
• Flexible problem solvers.
• Compassionate, caring, and culturally responsive.

Multilingual candidates are encouraged to apply.

• Gallery Guides must be able to facilitate a 60-minute experience, including traveling with groups to multiple galleries across the Museum and being active in Museum spaces.
• Gallery Guides must complete the initial nine-month training program, which includes content and facilitation training, tour shadowing, and tour co-facilitation.
• After satisfactory completion of the initial training program, this role requires a one-year commitment, facilitating three drop-in tours per month from July 2027 through June 2028. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer seasonal opportunities for this volunteer role.
• Applicants must have an active email address, learn to utilize the MFA’s online learning system, and be comfortable communicating via email and managing tour schedules online.
• Applicants must participate in required online and in-person volunteer training sessions for all Museum volunteers, including Museum orientation, training in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA), safety procedures, and other role-specific training.
• Applicants must be able to move freely and independently through the Museum for long periods of time.
• Applicants must be committed to the Museum’s core values of care, inclusion, excellence, curiosity, service, and shared accountability.

Drop-in tours occur daily except Tuesday. Tours last approximately one hour.

• Daily at 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 2 pm
• Additional tours at 1:30 pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays

• Participation in an exciting and dynamic environment
• The opportunity to support the MFA in creating a community where all belong
• Friendship and connection with like-minded supporters
• Discounts on MFA dining, shopping, and public programs
• Admission to select greater Boston cultural institutions

To learn more about this role, please complete the Volunteer Interest Form and select the information session that you would like to attend.

Thank you again for you interest in volunteering at the MFA!