OUR VISION
The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts initiates and supports the creation and production of art that engages diverse artists and workers at the intersection of art, social justice and labour.
OUR MISSION
Mayworks showcases working people’s art, and promotes artists as workers and workers as artists. We operate within an anti-oppression framework that prioritizes the representation and participation of artists and audiences from equity-seeking groups.
OUR MANDATE
Mayworks commissions, curates and presents artistically compelling projects during an annual multidisciplinary arts festival. Our programming reflects the reality of working people’s lives and furthers the struggle for better working and living conditions.
We work with a community-focused, diverse, and broad range of artists, workers and activists who seek bold critical responses to pressing issues at the intersection of art, social justice and labour.
Mayworks cultivates meaningful relationships with communities that face systemic discrimination and injustice. We prioritize the representation and participation of Indigenous people, Black people, people of colour, LGBTQ2 people, people with disabilities, women and young people in our programming.
Mayworks operates on sacred land and traditional territories. The territories include the Wendat, Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. This land is home to many Indigenous nations and we recognize the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.
The treaty that was signed for this particular parcel of land is collectively referred to as the Toronto Purchase and applies to lands east of Brown’s Line to Woodbine Avenue and north towards Newmarket. This treaty is still standing and it is our responsibility to uphold it.