WAHC

Off the Beaten Path Hamilton is a mapping database that collects personal stories and historical events of everyday Hamiltonians through the lens of labour and race.As an open living project, students from the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University create songs, poems, and other artistic media to tell past and ongoing suppressed stories of […]

30 Objects for 30 Years of the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre Curated by Sylvia Nickerson and Tara BurseyDrawing on WAHC’s collection of heritage objects, this exhibition commemorates our 30th anniversary championing working people and their labour through history, culture and art. Solidarity and unity, struggles for fairness, and experiences at work, home, and play […]

As articles of clothing associated with the working class, t-shirts are vehicles of political and cultural communication through design, image, and text. Within the labour movement, t-shirts help working people spread awareness about campaigns, strikes, and issues of concern. On a picket line or in a parade, workers wearing t-shirts are a powerful symbol of […]

For centuries, working people have found ways of pushing back against injustice on the job, and in society. The labour “fightbacks” explored in this first instalment of Work In Progress include collective actions like strikes, challenging racism and colonialism, and using art to make statements that push back against those in power. They illustrate how […]

Jay Youngdahl is an advocate for labour, a veteran, and an artist. Drawing on his experience working with trade unions (UBC, SEIU, IW) and their members, I Don't Want Your Millions (Billions), Mister proposes two ideas: that all workers are artists, and that working people are unified in struggle across identity lines.Featuring documentation of worker-made […]