Internship Spotlight: Saadwi Balaji - Festival Accès Asie

Since coming to Montreal, all the international students and locals alike point to the bombastic art scene here. As a diasporic illustrator and graphic designer constantly working on their globally inspired portfolio, I needed to see it for myself on my terms. Hence, Festival Accès Asie was the world I chose to immerse myself in—a perfect marriage of professional development and pan-Asian immersion across several artistic disciplines.

I wanted to continue my trend of gaining professional experience in a new linguistic arena. Last year, it was a return-to-homeland Tamil internship experience. This summer, I capitalized on the bilingual Montreal cityscape to improve my rudimentary high-school French. Apart from that, I wanted to discover new forms of art and events. I did not expect such a vast array of disciplines like culinary art workshops, themed soirees, and new media exhibitions.

Festival Accès Asie was an opportunity that let me embark on experiencing a fully French-bilingual internship. The festival focuses on amplifying all Asian artistic voices across dance, culinary, visual, musical, theatrical, and other creative avenues. Festival Accès Asie covers the Asian continent, including the Middle East, South, and Central Asia, making it a Pan-Asian Festival. It also deploys its mission at provincial, national and international levels. The idea is to create bridges between Asian communities and other Quebec communities without promoting the narrative of integration. In 2024, Festival Accès Asie will celebrate its 29th anniversary, marking a milestone as the oldest uninterrupted Asian Heritage Month festival in Canada.

Under the supervision of the festival coordinators, Wendy Lin, my co-intern, and I focused on three main areas of the functions of the festival. One was Front-of-House tasks, including ticketing and welcoming festivalgoers. Another was event coordination relating to venue set-up, videography, and accommodation of artists and hosts. The third was providing general administrative support through document translation, database entry, and graphic design of promotional assets.

Going to each event and experiencing the diversity of people and places, arts and culture, food and drinks— I could not have asked for a more fulfilling month of May. The beautiful little moments like dancing and laughing alongside my friends who came to support me at these events and celebrating colleagues’ birthdays in between event programming will continue to leave an impression on me and teach me what values to seek out in terms of my professional life. The vanilla-scented matcha brownies from the Japanese tea-tasting will remain unforgettable to my tastebuds. The Bollywood-infused EDM track from the Cyberpunk party will keep ringing in my ears. Witnessing a Bharatnatyam-inspired interpretive dance is a sight my Tamil heart will cherish.

An events-based internship like this did leave me wondering and wanting more. I had doubts about whether I was fully contributing to my potential during the events where Wendy and I often waited and waned. As an intern, it sometimes can feel like you are not considered in the entirety of the team structure, and tasks assigned are sometimes an afterthought, even if that is not the organization’s intention. Including us in the photos, post-event bonding activities, and lunchtime conversations made me feel and know I was being included, but my racing mind would get the best of me. Towards the end, we took on more projects and tasks that involved sharing our opinions and going so far as to make an intern handbook for future interns who may feel the same way. Rather than just sitting with these thoughts, we took meaningful action that eased our minds and also contributed to the organization.

I will not be receiving academic credit for this internship. Still, some of the documents I generated, like the Land Acknowledgement breakdown, Social Media Analysis, the Handbook, and translations, all informed research and communications skills I hope to continue to improve on.

I am proud to be a recipient of the Dean of Arts Development Fund, which funded my transportation and living costs. I wanted to experience a new sector free of monetary concerns so that I could decide what to specialize in as I continue my studies, and donors make this journey a rewarding learning experience that I am exceptionally thankful for.