The Art of Solidarity

The Art of Solidarity

Labour Arts and Heritage in Canada

Edited by Rob Kristofferson and Stephanie Ross

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The Art of Solidarity delves into the rich tapestry of labour arts and heritage in Canada—from protest music and union banners, to murals, community theatre, and oral histories, to workers’ history museums and arts festivals—showcasing how these expressions of working people’s culture have been essential to challenging inequality and fostering solidarity. This inspiring collection highlights the resilience and creativity of labour arts and heritage practitioners who, despite financial and organizational challenges, continue to amplify the voices and experiences of working-class communities. In an economy characterized by growing polarization, inequality, precarity, and uncertainty about the future and meaning of work, labour arts and heritage has a central role to play in providing answers that challenge the prevailing narratives about whose work matters and whose efforts are central to our communities’ wellbeing. This work is more important than ever before.

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Praise

“A welcome addition to Canadian labour studies, The Art of Solidarity spotlights working-class cultural institutions that activists have built to sustain labour arts and heritage. Rooted in a refreshingly expansive view of working-class experience and the vital role of culture in labour movements, this inspiring collection gathers first-hand accounts from institution-builders, artists, and historians. Confronting the often-fraught cultural politics of labour, it powerfully affirms the necessity of public spaces that preserve and advance worker-centred visions of just and equitable futures.”

– Greig de Peuter, associate professor, Department of Communication Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University

“Labour history and culture were once passed on informally in the workplace and the union hall. But those vital links were broken as work, unions, and community were eroded by capital. The memory of resistance and visions for the future are now being rebuilt more consciously and formally. Part history lesson, part how-to manual, part hope for the future, this book will help us rebuild those links of solidarity.”

– Mark Leier, professor, Department of History, Simon Fraser University; coauthor of Roles of Resistance: Game Plans for Teachers and Troublemakers

The Art of Solidarity is a landmark volume that documents the dynamic history and present of labour arts and heritage organizations in Canada. Kristofferson and Ross have brought together an impressive range of organizations, artists, and researchers to show that labour is not only the source of all creativity, but that creativity, in turn, nourishes the labour movement’s collective memory, tactics of resistance, and visions for a better future. This inspiring volume dignifies labour’s cultural history and imagines bold futures for movements rooted in economic and social justice—and in the labour, love, and joy of making art.”

– Tanner Mirrlees, professor, Communication and Digital Media Studies, Ontario Tech University

“All too often, art and heritage are cast as mere accessories to the pressing struggles to build a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world. This inspiring collection provides ample testimony to the contrary, showing us how diverse practices of remembering, celebration, and creative expression are central to the ongoing work of solidarity, activism, and community building.”

– Simon Orpana, author of Gasoline Dreams: Waking Up from Petroculture and coauthor of Showdown! Making Modern Unions

“The culture of working people is often born through struggle to better their working conditions and advance their rights. From picket line songs to protest march placards, art allows workers to communicate with each other, to promote a key message, and to express their feelings in moments of conflict. The Art of Solidarity showcases historians, musicians, curators, and filmmakers who have dedicated themselves to presenting the workers’ side of the story in a volume that will inspire labour movement activists who want to follow in their footsteps.”

– Peggy Nash, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; coauthor of Women United: Stories of Women’s Struggles for Equality in the Canadian Auto Workers Union

Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction The Art of Solidarity: Labour Arts and Labour Heritage in Canada
Rob Kristofferson and Stephanie Ross
Part I The Recent History of Labour Arts And Labour Heritage Organizations in Canada
Chapter 1 Forty Years of Revolutionary Programming: A Brief History of Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts
Carolyn Combs, Brooke Downey, Emily Visser, Helen Kennedy, Florencia Berinstein, and Karl Beveridge
Chapter 2 The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre: Thirty Years of Challenge and Change, Celebrating Working People and Their Communities
Florencia Berinstein and Rob Kristofferson
Chapter 3 The Alberta Labour History Institute: Promoting Labour Activism by Reviving Labour’s Story
Donna Coombs-Montrose and Alvin Finkel
Chapter 4 The BC Labour Heritage Centre: Bringing Labour History to Life
Joey Hartman
Chapter 5 The Graphic History Collective: Developing a Methodology of Solidarity and Collaboration
Graphic History Collective
Chapter 6 Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax: Widening the Scope of Labour Art
Sébastien Labelle
Chapter 7 The Toronto Workers’ History Project
Craig Heron
Chapter 8 Winnipeg, Public Labour History, and the Possibilities and Problems of Commemoration
James Naylor
PART II Artist Profiles
Chapter 9 Karl Beveridge and Carole Condé (1940–2024)
Chapter 10 Arlene Mantle (1939–2012)
Chapter 11 Kevin Barrett
Chapter 12 Don Bouzek / Ground Zero Productions
Chapter 13 Maria Dunn
Chapter 14 Min Sook Lee
Chapter 15 Kwentong Bayan Collective
GALLERY OF IMAGES
PART III Envisioning the Future of Labour Arts and Labour Heritage
Chapter 16 The Labour Arts Catalyst Program: Keeping the Vision of Mayworks Festival Alive
Alexandra C. Yeboah
Chapter 17 Work In Progress: Redesigning Permanent Exhibits at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre
Tara Bursey
Chapter 18 Alberta Labour History Institute: Building, Recording, and Disseminating the Living History of Alberta’s Black Community
Donna Coombs-Montrose
Chapter 19 Union Zindabad!: A Project of the BC Labour Heritage Centre
Donna Sacuta
Chapter 20 Remember | Resist | Redraw: A Radical History Poster Project
Graphic History Collective
Chapter 21 Social Justice Trading Cards: A Project of Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax
Sébastien Labelle
Chapter 22 Telling History Through Theatre: The Toronto Workers’ Theatre Group
Craig Heron
Chapter 23 Looking to the Past: The Brandon Labour History Exhibition
Rhonda L. Hinther
Chapter 24 The SPECIAL INTEREST group
Kevin Barrett
Chapter 25 Packingtown: From Community Collection to Video Ballad
Don Bouzek with Maria Dunn
Chapter 26 On The River
Asani / Maria Dunn / Ground Zero Productions
Chapter 27 The New Cultural Labour Movement
Davina DesRoches
Ode to Tomorrow (A Scene from a Museum)
John Isaiah Edward Hill
Notes
Index
Contributors