This fall, I am entering my final year at 缅北强奸 where I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts & Science in English: Drama & Theatre and Psychology. I am also an active member of Montreal鈥檚 theatre arts community where I work with local productions and organizations as an actor, writer, intimacy director, and dramaturg. As I approach the end of my time at 缅北强奸, I have felt especially eager to branch out from the 缅北强奸 bubble and the theatre world, so I began the Winter 2024 semester actively searching for an internship that would allow me to engage with other facets of Montreal鈥檚 vibrant arts and culture sector.
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I was drawn to Arts in the Margins (AIM) from the moment I first read their internship posting on the Faculty of Arts Internship Office鈥檚 website. The Tiohti脿:ke/Montreal-based registered not-for-profit seeks to strengthen communities through the creative arts, with a particular focus on programming work by and for musicians from marginalized communities. AIM also collaborates with other local arts and community-focused organizations to host concerts, performances, and offer free art workshops and artist talks for youth and adults. As both a student interested in community-focused work in the creative arts and an artist myself, I was excited to learn about the organization鈥檚 obvious commitment to social justice and see my own values reflected in their mission.
Going into my internship, I was most eager to learn about the ins and outs of running a not-for-profit arts organization and to witness firsthand how AIM鈥檚 work contributes to community-building in Montreal. AIM does not have any full-time employees aside from its cofounders, so my internship allowed me to immerse myself in the daily life of an arts administrator through a diverse range of tasks and projects.
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During my first month with AIM, I managed the organization鈥檚 social media channels, creating graphics and writing captions for posts advertising the organization鈥檚 many concerts and events. AIM works with artists and organizations from many different backgrounds, so I wrote French translations of all social media posts to expand the organization鈥檚 reach. I also worked closely with Brique par Brique (BxB), a grassroots organization committed to fighting gentrification, offering resources and services to residents, and promoting a strong sense of community spirit in Parc-Extension.
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My time working with BxB proved to be the highlight of my internship experience. Alongside other members from the organization, I planned the inaugural Monsoon Festival, a day of community gathering and artistic sharing in Parc-Ex. This included everything from communicating with and creating training documents for volunteers to running community info sessions to helping new immigrants from Bangladesh and India with vendor, volunteer, and performer applications for the festival.
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Working directly with community members was simultaneously incredibly rewarding and daunting. As someone who is not a resident of Parc-Ex nor an immigrant to Canada, I was wary of over-stepping while working in and with these communities that I am not a part of. Thanks to the teachings from the AIO鈥檚 Internship Positionality Workshop, I was able to overcome this uncertainty and approach this situation with a learning mindset; rather than charging in with my own ideas of how to improve the organization or what services to offer through the Monsoon Festival, I took great care to listen to and learn from the Parc-Ex community members about how best I could be of service to them and their needs.
Overall, my internship with Arts in the Margins was a profoundly enriching experience that deepened my appreciation of the ways the creative arts, activism, and community-building can intersect and uplift one another. I am grateful to have worked with an organization whose activities further social justice, and I look forward to continuing to work within Montreal鈥檚 creative arts and community sectors.
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Finally, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Dean Lisa Shapiro for funding my internship with AIM through the Dean of Arts Development Fund. Without her generous contribution, this formative experience would not have been possible.
