What Interns are saying about 2011-12....

          Charlene Smith, Curatorial/Production Intern:
For many years, I have had an increasing passion for the arts in all its forms. Personally, dance has been my main point of focus, however, visual arts has held a close place in my heart. After participating in Prof. Patterson's Women in the Arts course at the University of Toronto, she was able to spark a great interest in visual arts for myself, leading me to become an intern for the non-for-profit WIA projects. Though school remained time consuming and lead me into a few financial difficulties, the time that I was able to spend taught me a great deal.Overall, I have come to a deeper level of understanding towards the difficulty of being a female artist and the importance of creating a network of allies to build a stronger foundation for future prospects. Structuring a community is essential to success of any artist and women are in need of all the help we can get.


Emily Kakouris, Curatorial Intern, 
For the 2011-2012 school year I had the opportunity to participate as an Assistant Curator in the series "Border Crossings: An Erotic Affair?”  with WIAprojects and the Jackman Humanities Institute. I worked specifically with Pam Patterson and Sylvat Aziz to prepare and hang an exhibition in the gallery space located inside the OISE building. As an Art History student (who is pursuing graduate studies in Fall, 2012) participation in this project benefited me in numerous ways: Sylvat's exhibition, "Sisyphus & Other Personal Matters" provided an opportunity to assist in the creation of an exhibition and offered an helpful environment for experiential learning. Also, as an art historian who is not used to working with Contemporary art, there was a learning curve. Working with this stream of art fueled many questions about the themes and messages involved in the exhibition; I felt the process was similar to learning a new language. Once I had an understanding of the basics, it all came together when participating in the round table discussion and piecing together the exhibition essay. I will be able to reflect upon my participation and use what I learned towards my future studies in graduate school.


Kayla Barbeau, OCAD University, Educational Intern
Interning with WIAprojects has opened up many doors for me and has created a community of like-minded people with like-minded goals. Throughout my final year of completing my BFA at OCAD University, WIAprojects has inspired me to push myself and delve into the educational field of visual arts. Becoming familiar with this field has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. Meeting the active participants of WIAprojects at exhibitions has allowed me to put my goals in a solidified community and create valuable exchanges of information and experiences… As of the fall I will be teaching two courses … one I created, and another that will be adapted from a preexisting course. This connection would not have been possible without participating in the WIA internship program.

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