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On now until April 30th:
THE BOILERMAKERS & IRONWORKERS UNION
Camille Turner & Rick Hill

Opening Reception: Friday January 13th, 2011

The Boilermakers and Ironworkers Union brings together the work of artists Camille Turner and Rick Hill, curated by Jennifer LaFontaine. Growing up in the family of boilermakers and ironworkers respectively, both Camille and Rick have carved out their own life paths from these working families to becoming working artists. Both draw on their family experiences and infuse these identities into their artistic practices.  

When she was nine years old, Camille came to Canada with her mother and sister to live with her father. They settled in Hamilton, where her father, a boilermaker, made his living in the steel industry.Hometown Queen is a series of staged photographs of Miss Canadiana, in full-colour, posing in front of panoramic sepia-toned views of Hamilton's steel mills. Through her hallmark use of humour and irony, she both pays homage and explores her contradictory relationship to her hometown.

Also presented in this exhibition is Sankta Barbara, a video work collaboratively created by Camille Turner in collaboration with composer Paulo C. Chagas. The work was created in 2003 during Interaktions-Labor, a residency in an abandoned coalmine in Germany. It draws on the energy of Shango, an African diety who is syncretized with Sankta Barbara, to form a meditation on the unseen and unacknowledged work performed by men in the mine each day.

As Native artist Rick Hill says in his digital story Decisive Moments, "I didn't hear about the Creation story, the Great Law or any of that. All I heard about was being an ironworker. I thought that was my destiny." He recounts his path from ironworker to artist, and the ripple effect it had through his family. His large collection of black and white photographs documents the lives of ironworkers, "to help others see the lives of my heroes as I saw them." The photos and video pieces selected for this exhibit include ironworkers, family, photographers and craftspeople who taught Rick about art, how it shaped his own sense of self, and where his art has evolved from these inspirations.

MAKING ART WORK:
A Labour Arts Manual



WAHC is pleased to announce the official launch of  Making Art Work: A Labour Arts Manual.

Compiled by Hamilton Artist Ingrid Mayrhofer the manual features works by artists engaged in Labour Arts across Canada. It is designed as a source of instruction and inspiration for artists and activists undertaking collaborative art projects in their communities.

A copies of Making Art Work will be on display for general perusal in the Hamilton Hall of Labour and available
for FREE download here

Making Art Work was produced with generous assistance from the Ontario Arts Council.

Call for Submissions


Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

OCCUPY WAHC
Friday February 10th, 2012


View the full-sized poster

The occupy movement has garnered headlines as part of a new and revitalized wave of protest that has swept the world. But what is it about?

Join the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre along with representatives of the Occupy Toronto and Occupy Hamilton and the general public in gathering to celebrate, learn and ask questions about this important social movement.

Music provided by The First International aka MC Fitztherizista and MC Lipton

7PM -10PM

Just Food: The Right to Food



The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is proud to present Just Food: The Right to Food an exhibition featuring Canadian and international artists exploring issues around food access, security and, as the title states, "the right to food". The exhibition is curated by the Mennonite Heritage Centre in Winnipeg

Just Food will be exhibited in our Community Gallery from November 25th, 2011 until January 28th, 2012

The opening reception will also feature a talk by Hamilton based, participating artist Karen Thiessen as well as a special screening of Yung Chang's Earth to Mouth, a 2002 film that explores life at Wing Fong Farms, a Chinese-Canadian owned farm near Newcastle, Ontario.

Earth to Mouth is presented in conjunction with the third annual Hamilton edition of the Canadian Labour International Film Festival.

Food and refreshments will be available. Lic. LLBO



The Canadian Workers Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations for its
inaugural class of 2011.

Launched as part of the Workers Arts & Heritage Centres 15th Anniversary
celebrations, the Canadian Workers Hall of Fame seeks to commemorate the
often unsung heroes of Canadas Labour Movement.

To find out more about this exciting initiative or to complete a
nomination form, Click Here.

Annual Reports now available for download in both French and English

Go to About WAHC

Winter/Spring 2010
Newsletter now online

Read it here (400kb pdf)

Looking for Community Service Volunteer Hours?

We are currently recruiting volunteers
Please Contact Fabiola at
905-522-3003 ext 21 for details

 


Main Gallery:

THE BOILERMAKERS & IRONWORKERS UNION
Camille Turner & Rick Hill

[read more]

Entrance:
Custom House History & The Hall of Hamilton Labour
[view photos]

In our West Gallery:
Punching the Clock: Working in Canadian Factories from the 1840s to the 1980s
[view photos]

In our East Gallery:
Gateway to the Workers City & Made in Hamilton Industrial Trail
[view photos]

In our Second Floor Gallery:
Nine to Five: A History of Office Work
[view photos]

In our Community Gallery:
Just Food: The Right to Food
Canadian and international artists exploring issues around food access

[read more]







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