10-year volunteer “fell into” helping artists at Visionaries+Voices

Sometimes, life-changing volunteering opportunities appear when you least expect it. 

Tony Becker, a Cincinnati-based fine artist, didn’t have any intentions of long-term volunteering when he began a community-based art project, House, in 2010. Visionaries + Voices (V+V), an inclusive nonprofit studio and gallery space for over 150 artists, was a partner on the project. “I kind of fell into it,” said Becker, “but I was so captivated by the artists there and the kind of work they were doing. The staff is amazing—very loving and caring and dedicated.”

V+V started based on a vision to create space for artists with disabilities to find their voice within Cincinnati’s cultural landscape. Artists actively contribute to the greater arts community through creative, educational and strategic partnerships with local and regional artists, schools and business leaders. As a local artist, Becker has volunteered with V+V for almost ten years.

He’ll typically spend around three hours a week doing any number of things—making art, talking, listening, thinking about projects and attending openings.

One of Becker’s greatest commitments is during preparation for Double Vision, one of the biggest nights of the year for V+V. Double Vision serves as the organization’s annual fundraiser through a collaborative experience and art auction. Volunteers, including dedicated high schoolers, college art students and the artistic V+V staff help out immensely during Double Vision season. Becker supports wherever he can; he may do meticulous work, like glue hundreds of individual shingles on an artist’s dollhouse project, or might spend time with and listen to the V+V artists.

“They share whatever they want with me, in terms of their day or what they’re going through,” Becker explained. “When I say I was captivated by them, I was so impressed by their dedication and their obsessions, the things they really care about. They just come in and explore. Relentlessly. They’re just amazing that way.”

Since Becker came to V+V with no previous knowledge about the organization, he admits how intimidating it was at first to hear about each artist’s life and struggles. But he kept showing up every week, expanding his perceptions of art, the community and the artists’ intuitions.

“I think being a volunteer seems a lot like it’s me, it’s a one-way kind of thing, where I’m doing the volunteering, I’m doing the thing. But actually, the return—what I learn, what I experience—is much more fulfilling,” he said.

Even Becker’s family has become invested in V+V’s mission. His wife and two adult kids have been to the studio space and to Double Vision over the years. They’ve hung some of the artists’ artwork in their own home and his daughter volunteers at a similar organization in Baltimore.

“I think volunteering filters through,” he noted, then added without hesitation, “You become part of the family. It’s life-expanding in so many ways.”