Last year, I was invited by a friend and fellow budding art historian to the Toronto International Art Fair. For any art enthusiast it was love at first sight, in all colours, sizes and shapes. Nearing the end of our art-venture, we saved the best for last: the Canadian Art Foundation booth. We couldn’t resist purchasing a magazine, and the reality is, who could? Edward Burtynsky’s Oil Spill donned the cover, and the deal was irresistible. With much eagerness and anticipation my friend and I began to mingle with one of the vendors, who as fate would have it, would come to be my boss.

We inquired about internships, and happily left with our magazines. The opportunity to intern was a dream: to work for an organization that publishes Canadian Art, the most widely read magazine in Canada, hosts the Reel Artist’s Film Festival, and organizes the Canadian Art Gallery Hop Gala, a glamorous and effortlessly beautiful dinner and auction party that is held in support for the Canadian Art Foundation. Prestigious, reputable and glamorous, this was the art-world equivalent of Whitney Port working for Diane von Fürstenberg. (Yes, I’ll guiltily admit to translating my newfound independence and self-assertion in terms of The City’s Whitney Port, representing a quintessential sort of rite of passage that happens in the lives of young women who are finding themselves in their careers, and consequently the world that surrounds them.)

Months would pass before I was offered the position as the Canadian Art Foundation Intern. I began to read interviews of previous interns, who had worked for Kelly Cutrone’s People’s Revolution, as well as Art Forum . What exactly did I deduce from all the lingering notions of what Interns do? Internships are as much as a privilege as they are a responsibility. I was responsible for researching and archiving the works of 50 contemporary Canadian artists; all 50 works were the subject of the competitive auction. One of my privileges was working the Canadian Art Gallery Hop Gala, which attracted over 600 art enthusiasts, Toronto’s art star John Sasaki’s art installations adorned the Carlu, and a dinner by chef Jamie Kennedy was successfully and admirably managed by the Canadian Art Foundation. I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate to have received all the mentorship from my supervisors; during my time at the Canadian Art Foundation I have grown into a secure and confident woman. Needless to say, for all you aspiring go-getters, internships are the best gift you can give yourself before graduating from your undergraduate.

~ Noor Ale