Peek Behind the GIAF Curtain with Volunteer Manager Elena Toniato
For Elena Toniato, volunteering has always been a central part of her life, from supporting children in disadvantaged areas while growing up in Italy to travelling to Peru to volunteer in a children’s home, she has dedicated her time to helping others for as long as she can remember. She brought that same spirit to Galway, where she has volunteered with festivals like Macnas, Baboró, and of course, the Galway International Arts Festival.
Now, as GIAF’s Volunteer Manager, Elena works tirelessly year-round to help ensure Galway remains a top summer destination for culture, music, and unforgettable experiences. We caught up with her to go behind the scenes of the Festival, and she shares her top tips for making the most of this year’s exciting programme.
Before volunteer management became my profession, volunteering had been an integral part of my upbringing. In Italy, I volunteered with children from disadvantaged areas of my home city and with elderly people in nursing homes all through my secondary school years. I travelled twice from Ireland to Peru in South America to volunteer in a children’s home. The home cares for sick children, it provides medical care and education whenever possible. In Ireland, I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering with Macnas and with Baboró, and in the committee of the Melting Pot Luck Galway.
It is truly remarkable to experience the good will and enthusiasm of hundreds of individuals who sign up to volunteer
I honestly never imagined I would one day become a volunteer manager, a role which I truly love and I’m grateful for. It all happened when Galway was bidding to become European Capital of Culture in 2016. To cut a long story short, I briefly volunteered with the organisation myself and then had the opportunity to manage a group of volunteers in the months coming up to the European judges’ visit and to the designation of Galway as ECoC.
I then took on the job of Volunteer Programme Development Manager with Galway 2020 in 2018 and have been a volunteer manager since, joining Galway international Arts Festival in early 2022.
It is truly remarkable to experience the good will and enthusiasm of hundreds of individuals who sign up to volunteer with Galway International Arts Festival each year. Our volunteer programme prides itself in being very diverse and inclusive. In 2024, we had 47 nationalities represented among our volunteers with individuals who range from University students to professionals and retired people, people with different abilities and from a variety of backgrounds.
Of the 500+ volunteers in our programme, over half of them are returning volunteers with the other half new ones. What drives them to volunteer with GIAF is a desire to give back to the community, an interest in the arts, the curiosity of experiencing the behind the scenes of the Festival as well as the wish to meet new people and make new friends.
New volunteers can expect to meet new people, try new skills, see some shows, experience the Festival from a unique perspective and to have plenty of fun.
The two weeks of GIAF are pure mayhem, the good kind obviously. I really love seeing how the days unfold, it is never the same thing, you can feel the buzz in the air and along the streets of Galway. There is something magic that seems to make its presence alive in every corner of the city.
A typical festival day for me would start with arriving in the Volunteer Hub, checking in on the daily tasks with my team, contacting volunteers and venue managers, popping into venues, answering queries from volunteers, ensuring shifts are covered and dealing with any issues that may arise.
In my role as EDI Manager I’d also meet ISL-interpreters, attend accessible performances to ensure smooth operation, and keep an eye on the sensory backpack scheme. There is so much more to what a typical day looks like but it is hard to describe it as there really are many layers to my role and as I mentioned earlier, no day is the same.
I would recommend to start booking soon as some shows sell out very quickly. Once your schedule is planned, it is good to make space for a day or a half day for checking out the visual art across the various galleries in the city.
I would also definitely include a Silent Disco Tour; this is such a great activity to do with friends, as a family, or even on your own, it is pure fun and such good craic. After the fun of the tour, one can chill out at the Festival Garden, taste some artisan food, have a drink, listen to some music and take in the Festival buzz.
I am really looking forward to seeing Sabotage by NoFit State, a thrilling circus spectacle which will be taking place in a new big top at Nimmo’s Pier.
When the Moon Travels, a play by Moonfish based on the book by Oein DeBhairduin is also on my top list and so is the photography exhibition What Lies Beneath The Rubble by Palestinian photojournalist Eman Mohammed who will be also in conversation with Roisin Ingle as part of the First Thought Talks in the University of Galway.
I am also very excited about Tactile Tunes, an interactive musical installation by Arts Alive, a community based programme for adults with intellectual disabilities and led by artist and educator Jane Cassidy.
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