Hello (again) world!

Hello again, OIMA users and perusers!
 
I'm back again, back to seeking, exploring, and sharing all sorts of local musical treasures with you. 
 
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Swadhi, and I was here a couple of years ago, working as OIMA's World Music Archive Coordinator
 
Now that I'm back, I can see how much the Archive has grown: we have hundreds of songs here spanning 21 genres, some songs having been released as far back as 1966! I'm thrilled to see that the Archive is living up to its mission of preserving and promoting Ontario's rich musical history.
 
I loved working with OIMA before, so I'm also thrilled to be back, of course. Last time I was here, I not only got to find a ton of awesome music, I also got a chance to reflect on that music. My job got me thinking and talking about topics I find deeply meaningful, including women challenging and defying constraints within the arts sector, the role of the arts in shaping localized and globalized identities, and the importance of recognizing and respecting the complexity of cultures that are unfamiliar to us
 
This time around, I hope (and expect!) to learn and grow just as much through the music I find and share with you. 
 
I'll also be running a regular Mixtape feature: each week, I'll select 5-10 songs from the archive that I'm grooving to, and share them in a blog post. If you want to taste-test a variety of local music (maybe even find your next favourite band?) be sure to check in for that. 
 
And finally, I hope to focus a bit more on finding and digitizing older music. It's a difficult task: OIMA is all about respecting copyright and artists' ownership of their own work, so I'll have some sleuthing to do...but it's sure to be exciting stuff. 
 
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it all - what more can I say?
 
Till next time, friends!

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