Latest News
Andrea Slavik
The Things We Cannot Live Without
Opening Reception: May 17th, 7PM
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The world premier of a new installation by Canadian Artist Andrea
Slavik, investigates the hardships faced by Chinese workers at the
Foxconn factory in Shenzen, China - manufacturers of the iPod, iPhone
& iPad.
"The Things We Cannot Live Without is a personal meditation on "the
race to the bottom" as the phrase relates to the production, promotion
and consumption of Apple products.
Reflexively didactic, dioramic and interactive, the site specific
museum installation/memorial also focuses on certain suicide
prevention methods at Foxconn factories (the world's largest
electronic's manufacturer and maker of Apple products) as an analogy
for globalized economic systems."
- Andrea Slavik
In 2010, after the inaugural release of the iPAD, approximately
fourteen out of 18 workers from the Foxconn plant in Shenzen, China
successfully jumped to their deaths.
Unable to cope with the long hours and oppressive working conditions,
the employees, who assemble a good number of “indispensable modern
products” including the Apple iPhone and iPad among other large,
western corporations, saw no alternative, no respite from their
particular situation outside of ending their own lives.
After reading about the spate of suicides at Foxconn- which culminated
in a threat by over 100 workers to jump from the top floor of the
worker’s dormitories in which they were housed, and the installation
of preventative suicide barriers by the company– artist Andrea Slavik
began to question her own role in these deaths, herself being a
regular user of Apple products.
As a response to her concerns, and a memorial to the individuals who
have lost their lives Slavik has created The Things We Cannot Live
Without, a large scale, replica anti-suicide net that will cover the
entire upper level of the WAHC’s Main Gallery. The gallery walls will
feature readable QR Codes that participants can scan with their own QR
reader equipped smartphones or the two iPad Mini’s provided in the
gallery space.
Slavik hopes the installation will help viewers reflect on the complex
relationships we have with the goods we consume and products we
purchase.
The Things We Cannot Live Without opens Friday, May 17th, 2013 at the
Workers Arts & Heritage Centre at 51 Stuart St. in Hamilton, Ontario.
A reception, with the artist in attendance, will be held at WAHC on May 17th from 7:00PM to 10:00PM. FREE FOOD & Cash Bar will be on site.
Media Enquiries:
Andrew Lochhead, Labour Arts Coordinator, Workers
Arts & Heritage Centre
e. andrew@wahc-museum.ca
p. 905 522 3003
A Photo History of the 12" 10" Mill
May 3 at 6:00 pm
Hosted by Steve Lechniak
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HERITAGE BUILDING TRADES: CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals is currently seeking proposals from interested parties for inclusion in an exhibition to take place September 13th, 2013 and running through December 20th, 2013.The exhibition will focus on the built heritage of Southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area and its conservation and restoration by practitioners of historic building crafts and trades operating in the region.
Download the full RFP here
Boom, Bust, and Crisis
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WAHC in association with Fernwood Publishing is proud to present the official launch of Boom, Bust, and Crisis edited by John Peters.
A new book that explores the economic turmoil of the early 21st Century and it's impact on Canadian workers.
In addition to food, fun and fellowship, the evening will also include a musical performance by Hamilton artist and educator
Tor Lukasic-Foss aka Tiny Bill Cody and also feature a special silkscreen workshop opportunity courtesy of Centre3 for Print & Media Arts.
Attendees can create their own Boom, Bust and Crisis, posters for free or for an additional fee, souvenir tote bags and t-shirts!
All proceeds benefit WAHC & Centre3.
Speakers for the evening include: Editor John Peters, Wayne Lewchuk, Peter Graefe and Stephen Arnold.
The fun starts at 7:30PM at Workers Arts & Heritage Centre at 7:30PM. WAHC is located in the Historic Hamilton Custom House at
51 Stuart St. in Hamilton's North End. FREE FOOD and CASH Bar on site!
WAHC & the editor would like to thank the Hamilton District Labour Council for their support of this event.
About Boom Bust and Crisis
Over the past decade, Canadians have experienced wild economic swings: an economic boom followed by massive layoffs in traditional
industries and a wrenching economic crisis. What have these changes meant for Canadian workers? Bad jobs? Weaker unions?
Worsening health? If so, why?
Boom, Bust, and Crisis addresses these questions by surveying how work has changed across Canada, from the auto and steel industries
of Ontario, to the tar sands of Northern Alberta and First Nations casinos in Saskatchewan. This edited collection explains the massive
lay-offs in unionized manufacturing industries, the expansion of low-wage work and the rise of increasingly aggressive employers by
critically examining Canada’s political economy and assessing the impact of government policy and labour market deregulation on
Canada’s workers. The book also explores the recent policy
changes to employment standards and health and safety protection in the context of neoliberal globalization.
Written by leading political scientists, sociologists and journalists in concise, accessible language, this volume provides a rich and
vibrant assessment of why some businesses have boomed while others have failed and why, through it all, Canadian workers have
paid the price.
The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre Board of Directors is delighted to announce the appointment of Florencia Berinstein as the new Executive Director of WAHC.
Florencia brings with her over 15 years of experience in the arts and cultural sector working in deep collaboration with a broad range of workers and community groups. Florencia was the Festival Director of Mayworks Toronto from 2001-2012. She has extensive experience in developing and executing community arts projects with labour unions, including with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the former UNITE, among others. Florencia has also consulted with a number of unions on the integration of arts and culture in union education.
Along with labour arts, Florencia has led a number of community arts projects that address social justice issues with women, youth, LGBT, and immigrant communities. In 2003 she received a prestigious Chalmers Professional Development grant from the Ontario Arts Council to complete her Masters degree in Australia, focusing her thesis project on the gender and space in Melbourne’s trade union movement. Florencia is also the recipient of the 2002 K.M. Hunter Award in Visual Arts from the Ontario Arts Council Foundation.
Florencia assumes her responsibilities as WAHC’s new Executive Director on February 19, 2013. For more information on WAHC and how you can support our mission to become a national centre that celebrates the arts, heritage and culture of working Canadians, please visit www.wahc-museum.ca
Gus Oliveira
Chair, WAHC Board of Directors
John Maclennan:
The Spirit of Our Movement
January 11th - April 28th, 2013
Opening Reception:
January 25th, 2013 @ 7PM
Free Food and Cash bar on hand
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John Maclennan has been photographing the labour movement in Ontario for over a decade. From strikes, to rallies, to conventions and direct actions, Maclennan's lens has documented the many and diverse faces of the people involved in the struggle to improve the lives of workers across our province.
A member of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, his work offers a unique, grassroots perspective of the province's labour movement, focusing on the front line workers, students and activists that reflect the movement's commitments to social justice and embue and embody union solidarity - truly the spirit of our movement.
3rd Annual CLIFF Festival
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The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in association with Hamilton Wentworth Elementary Teachers Local is pleased to present the 3rd Annual Hamilton edition of the Canadian Labour International Film Festival!
This year will feature three exciting films, an accompanying exhibition from the Workers History Museum in Ottawa and a very special talk by A Struggle to Remember co-writer and producer Arthur Carkner
We hope you will join us for 2 days of solidarity, smiles and cinema!
This year's CLIFF schedule is as follows:
Friday, November 23rd, 2012
DOUBLE FEATURE / OPENING RECEPTION / WRITER'S TALK
7:00 PM Doors 7:30 Screening
A Struggle to Remember: Fighting for our Families - Dir. Aaron Floresco - 20 mins - CA
A Struggle to Remember: Fighting for our Families explores how Canadian feminists, unionists and political activists built a potent coalition, mobilized public opinion and achieved vast improvements in maternity leave and other family leave benefits. The 20‐minute documentary starts with the 1960's struggle to recognise women's role in society and the workplace. This struggle led to the 1971 extension of Unemployment Insurance benefits to include partly paid maternity leave. The story looks at key struggles in Quebec and BC to fully replace the wages of women on maternity leave and honours the unique contribution of early feminist unions.
*The film is also accompanied by an exhibition developed by the Workers History Museum in Ottawa which will remain on show through December 2012 in WAHC's Community Gallery
** Following the screening co-writer and producer Arthur Carkner will speak to his experiences in creating the film
Drink 'Em Dry: Solidarity for Success - Dir. Tom Mann & Sheldon Garland - 48mins - CA
Drink ‘Em Dry: Solidarity for Success is a candid and progressive view of union solidarity which developed despite tremendous odds in a Maritime community in eastern Canada. When Moosehead Breweries pushed away from the negotiating table and locked out the 175 members of Local 362, the union was stunned – not only by the lockout but also by the seeming rejection of their company loyalty which had sustained them, the company and the community for 144 years. In times of wavering support for the need for unions as well as their questionable relevancy, this is a story of solidarity and the impact of a lockout on a community.
Saturday, November 24th, 2012
MATINEE - 2:00PM Doors 2:30 Screening
2 Revolucion - Dir. Paul Bocking - 85mins - CA
The standard story about NAFTA is that it took jobs from Canadian and American workers and sent them to Mexico. But free trade’s impact on Mexico has proven to be even worse for Mexican workers, their families, and their communities. We travelled to Mexico to speak with community leaders, factory workers, educators, union activists, and advocates for migrant justice to explore how Mexico has been affected by neoliberal policies and economics, and to examine the grassroots social movements that seek to promote social justice across borders.
FREE POPCORN WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL SCREENINGS!
We Are Wisconsin Screening
Friday October 12 at WAHC
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The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre alongside Public Service International, Hamilton Wentworth Elementary Teachers Local & Hamilton District labour Council are proud to present a very special screening of We Are Wisconsin.
This critically acclaimed film, made its international debut at last years Hot Docs Festival in Toronto.
The film tells the story of the occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building and the subsequent effort to recall Governor Scott Walker over his controversial budget bill that
stripped Wisconsin public servants of their rights to collectively bargain.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by WAHC's Executive Director: Amanda Coles and include the films Director Amie Williams, participants and subjects who participated in the film as well as local representatives Lisa Hammond, President of HWETL and more TBA.
Doors: 7:30PM Screening: 8:00PM
Admission: PWYC
Nominations now open for the 2013 WAHC Board of Directors
WAHC is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2013 WAHC Board of Directors. This is your chance to be a part of the exciting changes and growth of the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre.
Those who choose to be considered for an elected leadership role with WAHC will be working on projects and initiatives that supports WAHC's vision of a Canadian society that recognizes, remembers and values the experiences and continuing contributions of all workers, their unions, organizations and communities to the quality of life we enjoy. Board members work on our Programming, Fundraising and Outreach, Education, and Building & Stabilization Committees to further WAHC's mission to become a national centre that celebrates the arts, heritage and culture of working Canadians, supported by organizations and individuals who value workers’ contributions to the creation of a better society. There has never been a more important or exciting time to be part of WAHC as we work to expand and enhance all of our initiatives!
Board service is extremely important. As a board member, you will be expected to participate in six board meetings each year and to either lead or work on committees throughout the year.
For a complete description of Board roles and responsibilities, see our governance policy here.
Download Nominating Forms here.
Nominees, their nominators and seconders must be members of the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre on or before October 10th, 2012.
Become a member of WAHC today!
Return all Nomination Forms by October 10th, 2012 to:
WAHC, 51 Stuart Street,
Hamilton, Ontario
L8L 1B5,
by email to Amanda Coles at executivedirector@wahc-museum.ca
or by fax: 905.522.5424.
Letters of Solidarity - Labour Day 2012 at Dundurn Park, Hamilton
Click to view in a new window:
               
On Monday, September 3rd WAHC and Centre 3 Media Arts Centre launched their Letters of Solidarity project.
Commemorating the 140th Anniversary of the 1872 Toronto Typographical Union strike and the subsequent march of solidarity that took place that year,
the project saw dozens of people create their own messages of solidarity, using moveable type and ink.
The prints created wil be featured as part of an upcoming exhibition at WAHC in 2013.
WAHC would like to thank Matt McInnes of Centre 3 for leading the activity and sharing his knowledge with all who participated.
Leonard Hutchinson
The Thread Winds Into the Past: The Life and Work of Leonard Hutchinson
Opening Reception: Sept. 14th, 2012 7:30PM
View the full-size flyer
This exhibition explores the life and work of Canada's, printer of the people, Leonard Hutchinson. Hutchinson, who is considered one of Canada's finest exponents of the social realist style of printmaking, was born in England before emigrating to Southwestern Ontario, where he died in 1980.
The works and artifacts assembled for this exhibition, including some rarely seen prints, reflect Hutchinson's interest in the local people and landscapes of Hamilton-Wentworth, but also raise important questions as to these landscapes impact on him as viewed through the lens of his Romani heritage.
This exhibition will serve as a precursor to a larger exhibition being developed by WAHC for 2014. The Thread Winds Into the Past: The Life and Work of Leonard Hutchinson runs through September 30th, 2012
Broken City Lab
As of 2012 We Are Alive & Well: Four Years in Windsor & Beyond
Curated by Andrew Lochhead
September. 14th - December 21st, 2012
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WAHC’s year- long exploration of growing up in working class cities or families concludes with the first ever career survey of art and urban research collective Broken City Lab.
Recently long listed for the Sobey Art Award, Broken City Lab’s four years of community engaged interventions across Canada have garnered critical praise, invigorated communities and raised fundamental questions regarding people’s relationships to public and private space within the urban environment, the institutions that define it, our agency as city dwellers within the contemporary urban milieu and the role of the arts and artists in shaping how we experience or engage with these environments.
Based in the industrial centre of Windsor, Ontario, the collective’s work has often deployed their hometown as source of inspiration, testing laboratory and a stand in for the hundreds of other communities across the country seeking to redefine their identities in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis.
This exhibition explores the group’s relationship to Windsor through revisiting their earliest works and illustrating how those works have shaped and defined their undertakings in communities across the country.
About the Artists
Broken City Lab is an artist-led interdisciplinary creative research group that tactically disrupts and engages the city, its communities, and its infrastructures to reimagine the potential for action in the collapsing post-industrial city of Windsor, Ontario.
The processes of Broken City Lab remain grounded in the lab’s observations and concerns about Windsor, as a city, as a community, and as a network of infrastructure, and aim to do two things: first, Broken City Lab works through interventionist tactics to adjust, critique, annotate, and re-imagine the city that we encounter; secondly, through these interventions, the lab seeks to educate, inspire, and facilitate a new way of viewing the potential for interacting with and in the city.
Broken City Lab’s creative activity is rooted in community-based social practice, where the lab attempts to generate a new dialogue surrounding public participation and community engagement in the creative process, with a focus on the city as both a research site and workspace.
Monday, September 3rd
JOIN US FOR THE LABOUR DAY PARADE & PICNIC
PARTICIPATE IN: LETTERS OF SOLIDARITY presented by WAHC & Centre3
2012 marks the 140th anniversary of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58 hour work week.
This strike and the parade of solidarity organized by other unions in support of the striking press men is recognized by historians and scholars as marking the beginning of the tradition of observing Labour Day and the tradition of Labour Day parades.
To mark this historic occasion, WAHC and Centre 3 Media Arts Centre (formerly The Print Studio) will be hosting a very special project.
Entitled Letters of Solidarity the project will allow participants to create and print their own messages to labour pioneers past and present, in moveable type and ink.
The prints will be collected for inclusion in an upcoming exhibition at WAHC.
The Letters of Solidarity print station will be located by the Beer Tent at Dundurn Park from the conclusion of the parade until 3PM
Also look out for the WAHC contingent marching in the parade, and don't forget to donate to the Toonie Wagon along this year's parade route. All donations benefit the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre.
Harvest Pilgrims Opens in Winnipeg
Vincenzo Pietropaolo's powerful photographs of migrant workers from Latin America and the Caribbean
opened June 21st at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery as part of a summer long focus on art works featuring Latin American subject matter or works created by Latin American artists.
If you are in the city please take time to visit this unique museum and gallery located at 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
M. Fleur-Ange Lamothe
How Can You Laugh? Faut-il Pleurer? Faut-il en Rire?
May 11th - August 27th, 2012
Main Gallery
How Can You Laugh? Faut-il Pleurer? Faut-il en Rire? tells the story of Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario, a Franco-Ontarian community whose primary industry, a pulp and paper mill closed in 2006.
Artist and former Smooth Rock Falls resident, M.Fleur-Ange Lamothe tells the story of this once thriving community through textile, sculpture, photography and video.
OCCUPY WAHC Friday February 10th, 2012
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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
Intro to Islam and the Muslim Community
Organized by Workers Arts & Heritage Centre as part of its current "Hammering Away"
project and in conjunction with Bryce Kanbara's installation "55 / 58"
featuring photos
of members of Hamilton's Artists and Muslim communities.
The event will feature a talk and presentation by Cordoba House, Hamilton
Members of the public are encouraged to bring their own questions and to
participate
in what promises to be an evening of learning, dialogue and mutual respect.
Thursday, Dec.15, 7:30 p.m.
Workers Arts & Heritage Centre,
51 Stuart Street, Hamilton.
Free Admission. Coffee & refreshments
Cordoba House is located in Hamitlon at 88 Forsyth Ave. near McMaster
University.
Our mission is to foster dialogue, facilitate understanding, and promote
research on
Islam and Muslims in the West and the role of faith in public life.
Saturday November 26th - Canadian Labour International Film Festival - Hamilton Edition
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The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is proud to present the third annual Hamilton edition of the Canadian Labour
International Film Festival.
This year's CLIFF will feature films celebrating the labour history of British Columbia, on the 140th anniversary of
the province's entrance into confederation, including a piece on forgotten labour activist Albert "Ginger" Goodwin.
CLIFF will also mark the centenary of the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that killed 146 workers in what remains
New York City's worst industrial accident in history.
Films screening at this years CLIFF include:
Goodwin's Way
Ginger Goodwin fought for his fellow workers rights back when Cumberland, British
Columbia was still a coal-mining town, but today his politics and untimely death cast a
shadow of controversy over the community. Told from a local perspective, "Goodwins
Way" examines a largely forgotten chapter of Canadian history.
11 min. Canada. Dir. Neil Vokey 2011
These Were the Reasons
First-hand stories of workers who organized early unions and fought for the rights of
working people. Presented in 12 thematic "chapters".
26min. Canada. Dir. Howie Smith 2011
Trek
In the most pernicious moments of the depression, unemployed men from relief
camps across British Columbia gathered in Vancouver to protest against the relentless
economic conditions. Eventually, 1,400 of them boarded freight train boxcars, starting
their On To Ottawa Trek. They never got beyond Regina. Trek restores this event to
national memory and probes its relevance to contemporary society.
41 min. Canada. Dir. Alan Seagal 2011
Triangle: Remembering The Fire
Triangle: Remembering the Fire marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire, an event that changed the course of history. It is the story of a
great uprising of young women, whose protest ended tragically in flames. A cinematic
tone poem of remembrance, the films also stands as a cautionary tale about the
dangers of returning to the attitudes of the Gilded Age.
39mins. USA. Dir.Daphne Pinkerson 2011
Steelworker's Waltz release party
Monday Nov. 7th
WAHC is proud to support the release of Steelworkers Waltz - a CD compilation of local singer/songwriters responding to issues surrounding the almost year long lockout of workers at Stelco.
The CD is designed to, in the words of organizer Kevin Barber "help raise awareness of the current state of our city and the effects of the Lockout of the 1005 Steelworker's. ... All profits from the CD will go to a fund to help the 1005 Steelworkers lost pensions."
The official CD release party for Steelworkers Waltz will take place Monday Nov. 7th at This Ain't Hollywood 3435 James St. N. in Hamilton.
WAHC staff will be in attendance and encourage our friends and members to attend as well.
There will be an appetizer buffet....so come by have a nibble and check out the inspiring songs that have been written by some of our city's favourite artists.
The Hamilton Kid
Ray Materick
Edgar Breau
Albert Barubek
Steve Foster
Kevin Barber
Steve Sinnicks
Lori Yates
Shawn Brush
Tim Gibbons
Martin Verrall
Sam Squid
Brad Hails
Mac N Awe
Bill Mahoney
WAHC is proud to join the Gender Studies and Feminist Research Dept. at McMaster University along with Big Susie's: Hamilton's Sex Worker Advocacy Group in presenting
SEX WORKERS EVENT 2: Challenging Our Assumptions
This very special event builds on our previous years success in creating an informative and entertaining panel discussion and performance event that helped audience members understand the challenges facing sex workers in Hamilton and across the country, and served to demystify many aspects of the sex trade itself.
This new event focuses on, as the title implies, challenging our assumptions about the sex trade and sex workers. For example who participates in the sex trade and why?
SEX WORKERS EVENT 2: CHALLENGING OUR ASSUMPTIONS will feature panel discussions and performances by: SKY GILBERT, DRAG QUEEN JASMINE, ROSE GOWLING & JESSICA HODGINS and Burlesque Dancing by DEMONIC DEMORTE with LIVE Demonstrations by DUNGEON DIVAS.
TICKETS ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT - We cannot emphasize this enough!
Tickets are available by visiting WAHC at 51 Stuart St. Hamilton, ON between 10am and 4pm Tuesday - Saturday
A VERY VERY LIMITED BATCH OF TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS AT THE DOOR
TICKETS: $20 in advance/$25 @ Door - Proceeds Benefit Big Susies!
Doors Open @ 6:30pm Showtime: 7:00pm
FEBRUARY 11th, 2010
Labour Lounge Remixed:
Super Phat Nish vs. Red Slam Collective
@ WAHC 51 Stuart St. Hamilton, ON
7pm-10pm
 "
As part of the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre's ongoing
Labour Lounge series and in association with our current
exhibition, N-nisidwaamdis: I Recognize Myself, WAHC
is pleased to present:
Remixed: Super Phat Nish vs. Red Slam collective.
The program will feature an artist talk by Barry D. Ace,
whose avatar series Super Phat Nish appears as part of
N-nisidwaamdis. Ace will speak to the series itself and his
work within the context of the exhibition.
The artist's talk will be followed by a performance by
Toronto-based aboriginal hip hop collective Red Slam.
Check them out here on MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/redslamcollective
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com
/user/RedSlamCollective
You can also check out the event on Facebook here: http://tiny.cc/9ibji
January 14th - March 31st 2011
N-nisidwaamdis: I Recognize Myself
curated by Crystal Migwans, Ojibwe Cultural Foundation
"Barry Ace, Nanabush Was NowHere 2005 Acrylic on
Canvas 64''x 66'' Private Collection
"This exhibition brings together the work of self-portraiture by artists from across the Anishinaabeg Nation. The works describe how Anishinaabe identity is forged, guarded and carried on by our Nation's artists, and they demonstrate how the self-portrait in this context can become a potent statement of resilience; a reclaiming of agency of representation.
The title of this show is "N-nisidwaamdis: I Recognize Myself," a title which implies that there is a "someone" for whom this moment of recognition happens. In its [original] venue here in the gallery of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, on M'Chigeeng First Nations on Manitoulin Island, this exhbibition is addressed firstly to the eyes of our Anishinaabeg community here on Manitoulin. It is their viewership that the greatest part of the exhibition occurs. For from that perspective, we gaze upon the artworks before us, and the artists of the wider Anishinaabeg Nation gaze back. And we recognize ourselves."
- Crystal Migwans. Curator, from the catalogue "N-nisidwaamdis: I Recognize Myself"
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is pleased to host this exciting exhibition which brings together the work of some of Canada's most important aboriginal artists including:
Norval Morrisseau, Carl Beam, Daphne Odjig, Arthur Shilling, Travis Shilling, Bewabon Shilling, Nadia Myre, Barry Ace and KC Adams.
DodoLab in association with the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre
presents...
Over the past 3 months artists Andrew Hunter, Caitlin Sutherland and
Tor Lukasik-Foss have been gathering information about the kinds of
work Hamiltonians and visitors to the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre do,
through their exhibition A New Workers Songbook and public
performances featuring Foss' Mobile Worker's Song Cart.
The information gathered would be used to create lyrics for a new
worker's songbook, one more geared toward contemporary forms of labour.
The resulting songs, composed by Hunter & Foss will be performed
at this very special closing reception.
Friday Dec. 17th, 2010
@ Workers Arts & Heritage Centre
51 Stuart St. Hamilton, ON
Doors: 7 - 10pm. FREE Admission.
All Ages Licensed Event
Second Annual CLIFF
Hamilton Edition
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in association with Hamilton Wentworth
Elementary Teachers Local, Hamilton District Labour Council, The Society
of Energy Professionals, Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation,
Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers and Wellington Brewery are
pleased to present the Second Annual Hamilton Edition of the Canadian
Labour International Film Festival.
The festival, dedicated to showcasing the filmic voices of workers around
the world showcases amateur and professional films created over the past
year, that deal with a wide variety of social, labour and environmental
justice issues.
This year we are also proud to feature a special local program presented
by WAHC's Labour Lounge series, that will feature films made by students
from Barton Secondary School and a director's talk by Laura Sky and
screening of her film Home Safe Hamilton.
For a complete schedule of CLIFF Hamilton, visit:
http://labourfilms.ca/cliff/festival-locations/ontario/hamilton/
SHIFT Festival Community Meeting
October 20th
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, McMaster School of Art - Studio Program and Jim Riley invite you to come learn about the SHIFT Festival.
Shift stands for Surveying Hamilton Incomes, Future Transitions.
SHIFT is a new community festival dedicated to exploring, interpreting and re-imagining the economy of Hamilton, Ontario.
SHIFT will take place in September 2011
To learn how you or your group can get involved we ask you to please attend this community meeting or contact us for participation information at shifthammy@gmail.com of visit S.H.I.F.T Festival on Facebook.
www.shifthamilton.wordpress.com
Labour Lounge
Friday Sept. 24th, 2010 7pm
Organized as a compliment to the WAHC's current exhibition A New Workers
Song Book by Dodolab, Tor Lukasic-Foss and Caitlin Sutherland, the first
Labour Lounge of the 2010-11 season showcases the vibrant history of song
in the labour movement.
Featuring a short talk by labour song historian, Tony Leah of the CAW and
performances by Steve Sinnicks, Testament and more, the program will
showcase the diverse and evolving nature of labour song over the course of
the last century.
Following the performance audience members are invited to participate in a
special labour song KARAOKE party.
19+ LLBO
Pay What You Can in Full Effect!
Call for Submissions
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is dedicated to preserving and
promoting the social and cultural contributions of Canada's working
people. As such we feature exhibitions that focus on not only historic
interpretation, but also contemporary cultural production with special
attention to the arts.
If you are interested in submitting a proposal for the Main Floor Gallery
please follow the guidelines below. The Programming Committee of the
Workers Arts & Heritage Centre accepts submissions on an ongoing basis for
annual review.
Please note that submissions should reflect the goals and aims of the
mandate of the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre.
Please also include:
Cover Letter
A description of the project - 500 words or less - that lays out the
technical specifications of the work, the content of the work and it's
relevance to WAHC's mandate.
Artists Statement
Curriculum Vitae
A CD or DVD of images and other related support material. For multimedia
or video work please include 3 clip of no more than 3 minutes each.
Digital images should be in jpeg format no larger than 1024 x 768 pixels.
They should be numbered 01 to 20 (i.e. 01_lastname_title) Do not embed
images in PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, etc., please.
Further questions should be forwarded to Building and Exhibitions
Coordinator Brian Kelly:
Brian [at] wahc-museum.ca
WAHC-Stravaganza
September 11th
The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre invites you to join us in a
celebration of Workers Pleasures and Pastimes commemorating the 15th
anniversary of the WAHC and the 150th anniversary of the historic Hamilton
Custom House with special events scheduled for the weekend.
Events include
the opening of the New Worker's Song Book Exhibition and WAHC-STRAVAGANZA an all day
Victorian-Era Carnival scheduled for Saturday, the 11th of September
featuring free BBQ, community vendors, family friendly games and a
performance by The Dinner Belles.
For more information:
Wahcstravaganza-Mailer.pdf
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is pleased to present the third in
their series of unofficial after-parties for the James St. North Art
Crawl.
This month the Shift Change Sessions are proud to feature:
Forest City Lovers - Out of Spark/Arts & Crafts
Celebrating the release of their critically acclaimed sophmore release,
Carriage
with very special guest, Motestra - Gebbz Steelo/Harmonia/Flogsta Danshall.
Friday, August 13th, 2010
Doors 9pm
Cost: PWYC (suggest $5)
19+
FOREST CITY LOVERS
Forest City Lovers began as the solo project of singer-songwriter Kat
Burns, from Whitby, Ontario, when she moved to Toronto to go to school in
2005 and began to play around the city. Soon after establishing herself as
a talented young songwriter, Burns collected close friends and peers for
what would become Forest City Lovers.
Following the release of 2006's The Sun and the Wind EP the band toured
extensively and secured fans far outside of their Toronto home. The band
was called a "Band to look out for" in 2008 by Eye weekly, the "best band
you've never heard of" by Spin, and a "mess of cute girls and boys who
sing about life in Toronto" by Nylon.
In 2008 the band released their debut full-length, Haunting Moon Sinking,
on Out of This Spark. The album did very well nationally and
internationally, garnering press and airplay around the world. The entire
album was played heavily on CBC's Radio One, Radio 2, and Radio 3, as well
as North American campus radio and NPR.
Since the release of The Sun and the Wind in 2006, Forest City Lovers have
played numerous festivals, including the Hillside Festival in Guelph,
Ontario; the inaugural Sled Island Music Festival in Calgary, Alberta;
Sappyfest in Sackville, New Brunswick; Keep It Cool in Lecce, Italy; and
Folk on the Rocks in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The band were
among the contributors to two compilation CDs, Friends in Bellwoods, and
Friends in Bellwoods II, as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank.
Forest City Lovers are nationally distributed through Arts & Crafts after
a partnership with their Toronto label Out of This Spark. 2010 has seen
the release of their recently completed sophomore album Carriage. Carriage
has been met with massive critical acclaim.
MOTESTRA
Motestra is a seven piece band project featuring Hamilton's Slow Hand Motem.
Slow Hand Motëm is the Canadian Pioneer of the Synthetic Funk sound known
as "Skweee." To put it simply his music is "Different".
Having a history deeply rooted in bass, Motëm was first discovered funnily
enough by two labels across the Atlantic Ocean from him; Harmönia Records
from Helsinki and Flogsta Danshall from Stockholm, whom both released some
of his tracks on their compilations, "International Skweee Volumes 1 and
2" and "Skweee Tooth" respectively. The latter being a joint release
between Flogsta Danshall and the über influential Ramp Recordings.
Motëm has also released tracks on the Norwegian Skweee label Dødpop,
Rekordah's Astro:Dynamics Label and dropped over 30 CD-R albums, a 7" and
a feature full length 12" on the Canadian Boutique label Gebbz Steelo.
Be on the look out for future release via Myor, Astro:Dynamics, Innocuous
Recordings and more.
Motëm’s live performances are renowned as essential demonstrations of his "Modern Cave Man" style.
The New Workers Songbook
A Project by DodoLab with Tor Lukasik-Foss
September 10th to December 18th
Inspired by WAHC’s collection of mid-twentieth century
worker’s songbooks, DodoLab is collaborating with artist Curator Caitlin
Sutherland and Hamilton artist, musician Tor Lukasik-Foss on the creation
of a new collection of songs for the working people of Hamilton.
The project will take multiple forms including an installation at WAHC,
street performances, broadsheets, workshops and the publishing of The New
Workers Song Book.
A documentary by Laura Sky
Executive Producer: Cathy Crow
Presented by Workers Arts & Heritage Centre and SkyWorks Charitabe Foundation.
HOME SAFE TORONTO is the second in the SkyWorks series of documentaries that deals with how Canadian families live with the threat and the experience of homelessness. It shows how the housing crisis in Canada is an expression of the increasing economic and job insecurity that has devastated the manufacturing sector in the Greater Toronto Area and throughout southern Ontario. The film reveals the consequences of this "new economy," where families surviving on low wages with no benefits, or on dwindling social assistance, are faced with the terrible choice between keeping a roof over their heads or putting food on the table.
Friday January 29th 2010
Doors at 7pm - Film at 7:30
Free Admission
905 522 3003 x25 or
wahc@wahc-museum.ca for more information.
Chinese Fever: Liki-Liki
by Karen Tam
January 8 to May 8, 2010
karentam.ca
"Chinese Fever is an installation made up of gold paper-cutouts that would take over the gallery walls. Inspired by hand-painted export Chinese wallpaper, which was popular throughout Europe and North America in the 1700s, I hope to subvert some of these chinoiserie images with an undertone of indignation and violence, and to comment on current events and attitudes."
- Karen Tam
Labour Lounge
The Labour Lounge will return in February 2010 with exciting new programming!
AGM 14 - NOV. 14th 2009
Ever thought about becoming more than just a member of WAHC?
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre Annual General Meeting takes place
November 14th, 2009. We are currently seeking nomination for a number of
vacant board positions. Three for one year terms and two for two years terms.
Completed nomination forms must be received by noon on Thursday October
14, 2009. There will be no nominations from the floor. Nominees, their
nominators and seconders must be member of the Workers Arts and Heritage
Centre when the nomination is submitted. Nominations must be accompanied
by a 50 word (maximum) biography of the nominee.
Return all forms to:
Workers Arts and Heritage Centre
51 Stuart Street
Hamilton ON L8L 1B5
Attention: Elizabeth McLuhan, Executive Director, 905-522-3003 x. 23
executivedirector@wahc-museum.ca
Harvest Pilgrim: Migrant Farm Workers in Canada
Photographs by Vincenzo Pietropaolo
September 11 to December 30, 2009
This collection of images of migrant farm labour in Canada by Vincent Pietropaolo is part of a long tradition of socially useful photographic documentation. In the past the credibility of camera images – their capacity to suggest real space and capture human expression – led to their acceptance as truthful witnesses of reality. As such, they have played a continuing role in efforts to alter disturbing aspects of society, particularly in the United States.
“Vincent Pietropaolo’s genius in these photographs is to suggest whole histories and whole worlds in the simplest of images. He takes a phenomenon most of us are hardly aware of and makes us see in it the story of a continent.” Nino Ricci, author
Labour Arts Needs You!
Next Deadline for Applications to Ontario Arts
Council's Artists in the Community Workplace Program - March 25th, 2010
Are you an artist, community group, union or professional organization seeking creative ways to engage your audience or membership with regards
to issues related to work, the workplace, employment or social justice?
WAHC's Labour Arts programme wants to hear from you!
Through our Labour Arts Coordinator, Andrew Lochhead, WAHC can offer you
assistance in facilitating collaborative endeavours between artists,
working communities, youth and working peoples organizations, through the
Ontario Arts Council's Community Arts granting opportunities.
For more information on types of projects you or your organization can
become involved in, or to learn more about Labour Arts please contact
Andrew at andrew [at] wahc-museum.ca
Download our brochure; Labour Arts: Promise and Practice
page 1
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...and still I rise
WAHC is pleased to announce that the Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit of …and still I rise, A History of African Canadian Workers in Ontario: 1900 to Present has gone live and is available to use and enjoy!
Read more at virtualmuseum.ca
…and still I rise is a joint project of the African Canadian Workers Advisory Committee and the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre. …and still I rise tells the story of African Canadian workers in Ontario from 1900 to the present.
The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre in Hamilton, ON is pleased to welcome Andrew Lochhead to the staff team in the position of Labour Arts Coordinator as of January 2009.
As WAHC's Labour Arts Coordinator, Andrew will animate labour arts projects; continue to develop the official Canadian online Labour Arts Portal - www.labourarts.ca; coordinate the delivery of labour arts curriculum in community, education and workplace based environments; and make linkages between unions, worker organizations, artists and arts organizations across Canada.
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