Abstract: | This study addresses the paucity of research on volunteer management in art museums and heritage attractions. Based on the results of surveys and interviews with volunteers and managers from international art museums, it identifies three sets of promising practices that appear to increase the performance of volunteer programmes: (1) building a community of volunteers; (2) enhancing volunteers' learning experiences; and (3) fostering the self-management of volunteers. Taken together, these practices offer evidence for the value of the ‘serious leisure’ concept in the theory and practice of volunteer management. |