Curated by Sonali Menezes
Print media is a powerful and practical tool for working people. Posters are used in workplaces, on street corners and on picket lines. They communicate clear messages and inspire action. Pamphlets can vary from collective agreements to political writing and workers’ newsletters. They share precise information about the terms of work, workers’ news, and theory relating to workers’ place in the world. Historically much of the materials on view in the gallery were not precious, designed to be pinned up, marked up, and placed directly in workers’ hands.
This exhibition highlights some of the print material in our collection through the Programming and Exhibitions Specialist’s perspective. Can the cracked spines of brightly coloured collective agreements be beautiful? What does a worker’s writing in the margins on a labour agreement reveal about their relationship to work? Do workers’ newsletters and pamphlets have anything in common with zines? What value have working people lost as the legacy of worker-centered print media fades in the age of the internet?
PROGRAMS
Guided Exhibition Tour
Saturday June 25, 2-3pm
In-person at WAHC
Join WAHC’s Programming and Exhibitions Specialist Sonali Menezes for a free guided tour of the exhibition. Learn about what drew her to select the posters, pamphlets, books and newsletters from her perspective as an artist, printmaker and zinester. Gain historical insight into some of her favorite objects on view in the gallery.
Myth-Busting Unions
Thursday July 14, 6:30-8pm
In person workshop, backyard at WAHC
FREE Pizza dinner!
WAHC wishes to acknowledge the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Hamilton, the Province of Ontario, CUPE, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, the Canada Council for the Arts, OSSTF and ONA for their support of our exhibitions and ancillary programs.
For more information, please contact Sonali Menezes, Program and Exhibitions Specialist, at (905) 522-3003 ex. 29 or sonali@wahc-museum.ca
