Every year, Vtape is lucky to receive funding for one or two Young Canada Works Summer Jobs positions through the Canadian Museums Association. Since June, we have had two fabulous students from TMU’s film preservation program working on a whole range of tasks related to our video catalogue and research materials. Meet Mackenzie Aker and Adam Tucciarone! 

Mackenzie is a writer and researcher from Montreal with a BFA in Art History & Film Studies from Concordia University. She is currently working as a Collections Management Assistant at Vtape as part of her master’s in Film Preservation + Collections Management at TMU. This summer, she has primarily been working with the incoming Kelly Mark collection: cataloguing, digitizing video and audio works, and assembling research materials. Mackenzie’s own research interests include curation, early nonfiction film, and politically engaged archival work.

Adam is a graduate student at Toronto Metropolitan University studying film preservation. He is working at Vtape as a Collections Management Assistant, mainly focusing on the newly acquired Kelly Mark collection. His activities have included digitizations, cataloguing, and assembling research materials related to the artist and her work. Starting in January 2026, Adam will be completing a residency at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, where he will be writing his master’s thesis on the Gordon Matta-Clark collection. Adam also co-programs a screening series of anti-war films at DIY venue in Toronto, @h_e_a_d___/. The funds raised from admission fees are donated to various groups, organizations and charities in Canada that are dedicated to anti-war causes.

Adam & Mackenzie write: “Interning at Vtape this summer has been a deeply rewarding professional experience! Getting involved in an artist-run organization with such a rich history has been exciting and has allowed us to develop new skills in preservation and collections management.

“Our placement began with exploring and cataloguing works in Vtape’s digital database, which exposed us to the breadth of the organization’s diverse collection. This process, and mentorship from the Vtape team, have expanded our knowledge of the history and scope of video art. Our work this summer has also included organizing physical archival media, testing and repairing playback machines, digitizing tapes, and developing the video lab at TMU.

“In addition to these tasks, the primary focus of our placement has been the recently acquired Kelly Mark collection – Mark’s videos will soon be in distribution at Vtape. We have been cataloguing and digitizing Mark’s video works, expanding the research collection, and writing promo copy. This multifaceted approach has been a powerful experience, allowing us to both develop our own skills as archivists and gain a personal connection to the work.

“Working at Vtape this summer has been both enjoyable and educational, we are grateful for the opportunity to work with such a welcoming and knowledgeable team.”

Image credits: home page and top: Adam Tucciarone (left), Mackenzie Aker (right), pictures by Claudia Edwards; bottom: Kelly Mark in a still from 108 Leyton Ave, by Kelly Mark (2014).