Labour Arts Catalyst
MAYWORKS FESTIVAL LAUNCHES THE LABOUR ARTS CATALYST
THE NEW INITIATIVE PAIRS FOUR ARTISTS AND WRITERS WITH LOCAL LABOUR ORGANIZATIONS IN A COLLABORATIVE ART-MAKING PROCESS.
Toronto, Ontario (June 16th, 2021) — After wrapping up a successful month-long Festival, Mayworks is proud to announce the Labour Arts Catalyst and its participants.
This new initiative pairs four artists from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to work with four local labour organizations in a collaborative art-making process that is in line with Mayworks’ vision “to incite the creation and production of art that engages diverse artists and workers in the advancement of cultural, economic and social justice.” This project also invites four writers to create work inspired and informed by the collaboration between an artist and one of the organizations working towards labour justice.
Through an open call for submissions a jury, composed of independent cultural workers Laura Tibi, Adwoa Afful, Ahlam Hassan, Mariam Zaidi and Pamela Arancibia, selected four writers and artists. “We were truly impressed by the range of artistic experience, as well as the commitment to activism that the applicants brought to their proposals,” commented the jury.
Catalyst participants are:
Maysam Khreibeh, is a Palestinian spoken word poet and organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement. Her work has been featured in several festivals and journals including the Canadian Spoken Word Festival in 2019.
Nasim Asgari, a Tehran-born, TKaron:to based multidisciplinary artist with poetry and performance at the core of her practice. Her poetry anthology is titled what was swept under the persian rug.
Maysam and Nasim will collaborate with Labour4Palestine.
Funmillola Lawson (A.K.A LolaBunz), founder of “Let The Silenced Be Heard” is a multidisciplinary Hip Hop artist, spoken word artist and Entrepreneur. She has performed at BET, South By Southwest Texas, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Art Basel (Miami), Canadian music week, and much more.
Maandeeq Mohamed is a writer living in Tkaronto. Engaging Black Studies and related cultural production, her writing is featured in Real Life, C Magazine, and Canadian Art. Her writing is deeply indebted to the generations of work around Black liberatory politics, poetics, and aesthetics. Maandeeq is currently a Ph.D. student in English and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto, where she is a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholar.
Funmillola and Maandeeq will collaborate with Jane Finch Action Against Poverty.
Alexandra Yeboah is a writer, storyteller, facilitator, and mental health advocate. She has a background in journalism and has participated in grassroots initiatives led by several local anti-poverty groups over the years, including 15 and Fairness, Peel Poverty Action Group, and Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty.
Anna Jane McIntyre is an artist whose practice combines storytelling, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, performance and microactivism. Her work has been presented in Canada, the United States, England, Europe, Brazil, South Africa and the Caribbean.
Alexandra and Anna Jane will collaborate with the Coalition for Black Trade Unionists.
David Yu practices multimedia, installation, and performance. His work stretches from sculptural forms and installation to audio, video, and participatory live performance and has been presented at several local and international exhibitions.
Danny Torres, born and raised by working-class Ecuadorian immigrants in Toronto, uses film and poetry as tools to explore how oppressive systems affect the healing of underserved groups/how they keep us away from the things we love.
David and Danny will collaborate with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council.
“Mayworks is excited to initiate and support these timely collaborations,” said Mayworks’ Executive Director, Carolyn Combs, “Labour activists and artists together, are creating visions of a just future.”
The Labour Arts Catalyst has been made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
About Mayworks
The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts is a community-based festival that annually presents new works by a diverse and broad range of artists, workers and activists. We prioritize the representation and participation of artists and audiences from communities facing systemic discrimination. Mayworks operates within an anti-oppression framework. We are actively engaged in a social dialogue that challenges the logics of capitalism and seeks to reimagine and represent economic and environmental justice.
For more information visit www.mayworks.ca
About Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (Ontario), Canada, Canada seeks to fulfill the dream of Black trade unionists, both living and deceased, who throughout our labour history in Canada have courageously and unremittingly struggled to build a national movement that brings our collective strength and varied talents to bare in an unending effort to achieve economic, political and social justice for all.
For more information visit cbtu.ca
About Jane Finch Action Against Poverty
Jane Finch Action Against Poverty is a grassroots group in the Jane Finch community. It consists of community residents and members from different organizations in the area. The group was formed in October of 2008 following a rally at the intersection of Jane Finch to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
For more information visit jfaap.wordpress.com/
About Labour for Palestine
Labour4Palestine is a pan-Canadian network of labour activists who work to deepen solidarity with Palestinian workers & people in their struggle for liberation.
For more information visit twitter.com/PalestineLabour
About Toronto and York Region Labour Council
The Toronto and York Region Labour Council is a central labour body that combines the strength of hundreds of local unions representing 220,000 working men and women and their families. Its mandate is to organize and advocate on issues that are vital to working people throughout the region, and to carry out local campaigns for the Canadian Labour Congress.
For more information visit labourcouncil.ca/
Media Contact
Juan M. Gonzalez-Calcaneo
publicist@mayworks.ca
