My name is Dilara Bhuiyan, I am completing my Bachelor of Arts at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ where I am majoring in International Development Studies and minoring in Mathematics and Communication Studies. I am interested in cinema and performance art, and I am inclined towards South Asian art because it is reflective of my ethnic background. I wanted to do the internship with Festival Acces Asie because it encompasses my interests and values. Festival Acces Asie is a Montreal-based arts festival that promotes Asian arts, cultures, and histories through a diversity of artistic disciplines such as visual arts, film, theater, danse, music, etc. The festival’s missions are to advance the appreciation and understanding of Asian arts, cultures, and histories, to create a favorable environment for its promotion, to disseminate the work of artists of Asian origin and artists and to provide them opportunities to present their work, and to dismantle cultural barriers.
When I saw the internship posting, I was instantly drawn to its vision, and wanted to be a part of their team. My objective was to learn about the logistics of the festival. It hosts several events every year in May, and I was curious about which event was going to represent the festival and its values, how it is organized, and finally, how it is showcased. In concordance to setting SMART goals, I wanted to acquire new knowledge and experience, but also refine soft skills. Under the supervision of the festival's team, my responsibilities included developing, and implementing branding strategies and positioning tools through social media, researching, and networking with Asian cultural communities in Montreal, and coordinating the events. During the month of May, the festival hosted over 20 events, and I had the privilege to organize, host and assist them with the team. I had to communicate with different artists and organizations involved with the events; for instance, I had to go a day ahead to the Conseil des Arts de Montreal to ensure that they had all the material and equipment necessary for our opening cocktail. I had to communicate with some artists to clarify what they were going to showcase so that we could promote their event more accurately. To promote the events, I had to create content on social media and advertise it to different age groups that the events were the most appropriate for. I also had to create visual support for social media, but also for some events such as the opening cocktail, for which I made a slideshow of pictures of the festival and its program. Although my main responsibilities consisted of helping with the coordination and the communication of the festival, such as managing the social media, I also did other tasks during the events such as ticketing, bartending, ushering, etc. I learned how to promote events efficiently, and how to manage crises, such as finding a solution to when artists had COVID and could not present their art to the public or making an event more dynamic when it failed to have many attendees. I also learned how to develop critical judgment when hosting an event to ensure that it is reflective and respectful to a specific culture and its people, while considering the limitations it has. I had to showcase a critical assessment on whether the festival respected their vision.
My contribution to social media content and coordination was a highlight of my internship. I created a TikTok account for the festival, and our videos reached many people and drew much engagement. The goal of the festival is to have as much exposure and promotion, and we were able to reach that through TikTok. Even on Instagram, our engagement strategies were successful. Me and the other intern, Estelle, brought a youthful perspective on how to manage social media platforms, and it was very beneficial. I have also brought good and creative ideas on how to garner attention from specific audiences for specific events. The team was also a highlight: everyone is very inclusive and does not exhibit any hierarchy. Although I am an intern, I felt as though my position was as valuable as the artistic director. Additionally, having the privilege to attend enriching events for free was a highlight. I learned so much about different aspects of Asian art and I was so fascinated by the array of disciplines that were showcased. I even got to host the closing event which was thrilling. The biggest challenge I have faced was when I had to quickly learn how to use new platforms such as Canva and WordPress. Eventually, I have mastered how to use them since they were essential to fulfilling my tasks. That being said, I have been able to overcome this challenge.
I do not receive any academic credit from my internship, but it does impact my university experience because of all the knowledge that I have acquired. My studies helped me learn about third world countries’ history, culture and political state, and my internship showed me how the communities from these countries display their culture in Montreal. I was able to understand their art because I had learned about it during my studies.
The funding for the internship is very helpful since it will allow me to pay for my studies for the upcoming semester, therefore, I am extremely grateful to the Gail Todgham Arts Internship Awards Fund for making this opportunity possible for me. I want to thank Ms. Todgham for the generous award.
