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I would like to thank Mr. David Tarr and Ms. Gisele Chevrefils, for their support of this internship. My name is Alexi Fuentes and I am a Political Science student who is interested in social justice, community empowerment, uplifting marginalized communities, and the arts. I chose this internship with Arts in the Margins and Brique par Brique because it was a way to pursue the intersection between community work and the arts, by helping a diverse, uplifting, and community-centered cultural festival come to life. This internship was a way for me to apply my academic and professional experience in a meaningful way, and these organizations work with and for marginalized communities who should be supported and given a platform to thrive. My learning objectives were to experience and learn as much as possible about the different roles and tasks of the organizations’ staff members, and to learn through practice by taking on various tasks in various settings while working with various people.

My host organization, , advances equity, diversity and Inclusion via innovation in arts presentation, production and training. Their focus is on creative musical works in often over-looked genres by and for historically marginalized communities. Through Arts in the Margins, I was placed with , a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by community organizers and professionals of colour in order to respond innovatively and from a social justice perspective to the need for affordable housing in the gentrifying and multicultural Parc-Extension neighborhood.

My tasks and responsibilities varied and the project I worked on was Brique par Brique’s second Monsoon Festival, under the supervision of Arts in the Margins. I worked with and supported the festival coordinator and producer, helping with festival preparation, day-of festival tasks, and post-festival wrap up tasks (reporting, logistics, administrative tasks, etc). More specific tasks include communications, outreach, emails, writing copy, event planning, video editing, running social media pages, coordinating/leading volunteers, organizing performer meet ups, programming, and more.

My academic background helped develop critical thinking and analysis which was needed for this internship. We worked with diverse community members who had varying levels of digital literacy skills, English/French proficiency, and needs. We also wrote and revised copy that would be released publicly and on social media, so we had to be careful and intentional in how we crafted the image and messaging behind the Monsoon Festival, and patient in how we communicated with participants and performers.

A memorable moment from my internship was working the day after the Monsoon Festival with my 2 colleagues from the festival core team. We had a casual debrief over lunch about the successes and challenges, and we were amazed by how much we accomplished. We were very tired but supported each other in finishing up post-festival tasks while talking and listening to music. Another memorable moment was the last lunch meet-up for festival performers where we all discussed logistics and information for the festival and then ate, mingled, and built up the hype and excitement just before the festival. We built rapport with the performers leading up to the festival because of the weekly performer meetings that were organized, and that was a great experience.

A challenge I faced was juggling many tiresome tasks while solving and overcoming problems that arose on the day of the Monsoon Festival. I was able to overcome challenges that arose on that day, from technical to logistic to interpersonal issues, by getting support from the staff team who I was able to build rapport with. By being open, honest, communicative, and building trust, I was able to work with and get support from my colleagues and vice versa.

This internship has helped me get a better sense of what career or professional path I could pursue in the future. I enjoyed working with Arts in the Margins and Brique par Brique and learning about the important work they do that center around empowering and uplifting the community. I wanted an experience that would help me learn and do a variety of things and the award helped me do that.

The funds from the David Tarr & Gisele Chevrefils Arts Internship Award gave me financial support to do an internship this summer with a reputable nonprofit organization that aligns with my values and interests. This has been helpful in my exploration of future professional options while getting experience.

Thank you to Mr. David Tarr and Ms. Gisele Chevrefils for making this experience possible!

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