Mayworks Labour Arts Awards 2023 – Nominations Are Now Open!

The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts is excited to announce the 2023 Labour Arts Awards. Recognizing the contributions of artists and activists to the labour movement, Mayworks is pleased to bring back our annual awards ceremony for the first time since the COVID pandemic.

Award Categories

The Artist Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Labour Movement

For an artist, working in any artistic discipline (e.g. visual arts, writing, performance, music, etc.), who 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 who has promoted and incorporated labour arts in their activism.

The Traditional Labour Arts Award

For the creative design and use of a quilt, banner, badge, button, placard, or apparel, etc., to promote labour solidarity.

The Labour Creative Maverick Award

For an unusual and creative use of the arts to promote workers’ rights.

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 who 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 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.

Please visit the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts website for the procedure for submitting a nomination for the 2023 Labour Arts Awards.

Nominations are due by Monday, August 28, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. ET.