Latest News
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
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
View the full-size poster
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
page 2
...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.
|
