Emma had the opportunity to digitize the 2025 Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival poster.
During my first year in the Master of Information Studies program at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, I was constantly keeping an eye out for new job postings or any opportunity that would give me experience related to my field of study. As a new international student, however, it was harder than I initially expected to find such an opportunity. Thankfully, a second-year student in my program told me about the summer internships through the Faculty of Arts Internship Office! As I am currently studying information management and archival studies, I was hoping to find an internship that would allow me to gain hands-on archival skills and to manage information in a setting in which I had no previous experience. Additionally, as I am still getting to know the city of Montreal, I was also hoping to find an internship that would allow me to connect with the community here. The archival internship with Suoni Per Il Popolo gave me the chance to accomplish my goals and was a great fit for my professional and personal interests.
Suoni Per Il Popolo is an experimental and exploratory music festival, highlighting diverse local, Canadian, and international artists. As an intern with the festival, my duties were different and exciting each day. In the beginning, I learned about the Popolo Press and how Kiva, the Suoni festival creator and organizer, handcrafts posters for each festival. In the print shop, I helped organize different wood and metal types and saw the creation of this year’s festival poster. Part of my duties also included digitizing and categorizing various festival and event posters that Kiva has made over the years, allowing me to gain hands-on digitization experience, which is useful experience as I hope to work in an archive in the future.
A glimpse into the Popolo Press office where various type sets are organized.
With other Suoni interns, I also helped copy edit the festival program, created graphics for the festival, managed information on the Suoni website, attended a CKUT radio session to promote the festival, and posted content on social media. While the internship had its challenges, as closer to the festival there was a fast-paced, fluid work atmosphere, I was able to adjust and adapt to a more flexible workflow.
As Suoni Per Il Popolo was celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, there was an exciting atmosphere surrounding the festival. A highlight of this internship was getting to work almost every night of the festival with the production managers at the various venues of the festival. Each night, I would be assigned to a different show and helped with venue setup, ticketing assistance at the doors, or selling festival merchandise. Each performance I attended was creative and thought-provoking. The festival gave me the opportunity to discover artists that I may not have ever come across on my own. I was also able to meet and interact with many artists, music lovers, and festival supporters each night. By participating in this internship, I truly feel like I was able to be a part of a valuable and unique arts community in Montreal.
The festival started off with a free concert in the Théâtre de Verdure in parc La Fontaine.
Suoni is more than just a music festival. It creates an opportunity to bring the community of Montreal together to support music, activism, and a diverse range of artists. Thank you to the Dean’s Office, in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts Internship Office, for the Faculty of Arts Internship Award, which allowed me to participate in this opportunity. My internship was a valuable experience that supplemented my studies at 51³Ô¹ÏÍøand allowed me to connect with a vital community organization.
