CANADA, STOP ARMING SAUDI ARABIA ZINE LAUNCH + SILKSCREEN WORKSHOP

Join us for the launch of a new collaborative zine: “Canada, Stop Arming Saudi Arabia”. Pick up your free copy of the zine and hear from artist Sonali Menezes and anti-war organizers. This event is also an opportunity to silkscreen print your own anti-war poster, drop-in style.

A zine is an independently published mini-magazine or booklet. The word comes from the last few letters of the word ‘magazine’ and is a do-it-yourself method of sharing ideas with everyday people. Silkscreen printing is a quick and dirty printmaking process used widely in social movements to make posters and artwork. The process uses a thin screen made of silk, a squeegee and colourful ink. Refreshments served! All Mayworks Festival events are free.

“Canada, Stop Arming Saudi Arabia” was developed by Sonali Menezes through Mayworks’ Labour Arts Catalyst in collaboration with Labour Against the Arms Trade and Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. 

To learn more, read ‘Collective Dialogic Care with Sonali Menezes’ by Genevieve Wallen. 

Sonali Menezes is an interdisciplinary artist based in Hamilton, ON. She holds an Honours BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph and is the youngest of triplets. While her work spans many mediums, she has been most recently focused in video, zines and printmaking. In 2018 Sonali’s chapbook zine won the Broken Pencil Magazine Zine Award for best literary zine. In 2019 she was the recipient of the City of Hamilton’s Emerging Artist Award in Media Arts. Sonali just quit her day job in art administration so she can focus on making art and spend less time on emails. If you’ve got any tips on how she can continue paying her bills, please let her know! 

Labour Against the Arms Trade is a coalition of labour and peace activists working to end Canada’s participation in the international arms trade. We organize for arms conversion and a just transition for arms industry workers.

The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War began in 2002 as the November 16th Coalition, which formed in Hamilton to organize opposition to the then impending attack on Iraq. Leaders and activists from the peace movement, the faith communities, the labour movement, the student movement, and ethnic communities came together to lobby Canada to stay out of the war if we couldn’t prevent it from happening. From Haiti to Afghanistan to Pakistan we are hearing the drumbeat of illegal and immoral wars become louder and louder. The mission of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War is to press harder for peace, challenging every political leader to stand with the people in pursuing peace over war.

The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre (WAHC) was started over 25 years ago by an ambitious and dynamic group of labour historians, artists, and union and community activists who saw a need for a community museum that could celebrate the history of workers and labour. Over the years, WAHC has expanded their vision of work to include both paid and unpaid work, and to be as inclusive as possible of the experiences and histories of the least visible work and workers. As a community museum and arts centre, WAHC offers a diverse array of exhibitions, workshops, educational programs, digital projects, and community events that explore perspectives in labour history, social justice, and contemporary labour issues. WAHC also has a permanent collection of artifacts that relate to labour history and workers’ experiences. The community museum brings together members of community, unions, local arts organizations, workers’ groups, and artists to share and celebrate the stories of working people.