Established in 2012, our awards recognize artistic contributions to the labour movement and the many ways that the arts contribute to the everyday struggle for workers’ rights.
Save the date for our 2026 gala: Saturday November 14
Award recipients are honoured at our annual Gala event with an evening of good food, live music and celebration with the labour and arts community.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination to the awards. Recipients will be announced mid-October. Check back for updates!
Award Categories
The Artist Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Labour Movement
For an artist or arts based organization, working in any artistic discipline (e.g. visual arts, writing, performance, music, etc.), that has significantly captured the values of the labour movement in their work.
The Activist Award for Excellence in Contribution to Labour Arts
For an activist or an organization that has incorporated the arts in their labour activism.
The Labour Creative Maverick Award
For an unusual and creative use of the arts to promote workers’ rights.
This award is open to an organization or an individual.
The Labour Organization Award for Excellence in Contribution to Labour Arts
For a labour organization that has made outstanding use of the arts to engage their membership and/or the community.
The Min Sook Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Labour Arts
For an individual or organization that has captured the values of the labour movement in their art and activism over many years. This award is named in honour of Min Sook Lee, an activist-artist whose own contributions moved the Mayworks Festival toward its current artistic vision to actively encourage representation of equity-seeking groups as audiences and artists. Lee also helped Mayworks focus on programming that engages new, non-arts audiences, and that challenges Eurocentric notions of art.