MAYWORKS FESTIVAL OF WORKING PEOPLE AND THE ARTS
Mixing art, culture, politics and labour for 27 years!

May 5 – May 13, 2012 across the GTA

Music
Visual Art
Video
Theatre
Workshops

Dub Trinity, Louise Liliefeldt, Michele Landsberg, Frances Fox Piven, evalyn parry, Truth Is. . ., Ritallin, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC MEMORY and many more at Mayworks.

See full program, artist bios and more at: www.mayworks.ca
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Info: 416-599-9096 or coordinator@mayworks.ca
Media Contact: Matthew Adams, Publicist, 416-762-0260, publicity@mayworks.ca

SELECTED PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

PERFORMANCE

Alien-Nation
Saturday May 5, 8 pm, $10 - $15 sliding scale
The Rivoli, 334 Queen Street West

Alien-Nation is a celebration of creative resistance in struggle - through art and music to build more resilient communities. By focusing on workers' struggles and systemic discrimination and injustices, we raise our voices in solidarity with undocumented and precariously documented migrants for justice.

Performing are three amazing spoken word artists and one feature band who have consistently celebrated the resistance of migrant workers. Don't miss Lishai, an award winning poet and powerful performer; Truth Is..., whose passion is only surpassed by her desire to explore and express the truth itself; and Ritallin, a highly respected name in Canada's spoken word community, followed by a feature performance by Dub Trinity. Dub Trinity is a high-spirited, six-piece dub/ska band that brings social consciousness to the dance floor and has just released their latest album, Alexandria (and other cautionary tales). We close out the night with DJ Leila P.

Co-sponsored by No One Is Illegal.

To Live in the Age of Melting: A Concert with evalyn parry
Sunday May 13, 4 pm, $15
Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen Street West

Innovative, award-winning songwriter, poet and theatre artist evalyn parry takes her listeners on an uncommon musical and poetic trip, spinning a web of ideas that travel from 19th century cycling heroines to 21st century sailors; from "feminine protection" to bottled water, to the quest for the Northwest Passage.

In this special Mayworks concert, parry presents the Toronto premiere of her musical essay To Live in the Age of Melting, a deconstruction of the icon Canadian folk song Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers, examining issues of Arctic sovereignty, global warming, colonization, folk song and the history of conquest in the Canadian North. Accompanying herself on an eclectic collection of instruments (including guitar, water bottle, shruti box and loop pedals), evalyn will be joined by several of her favorite musical collaborators.

LeftWords Festival of Books and Ideas
Sunday May 6, 11 am - 5 pm, Free
Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street

Smart writers. Critical Perspectives. Great deals.

Join us for author events, presentations, and workshops, and a fantastic book fair with speakers like Michele Landsberg, Frances Fox Piven, David McNally, Jeet Heer, and many more!

VISUAL ARTS/FILM AND VIDEO

If I Were a Monument exhibit and performance by Louise Liliefeldt
Exhibition: May 12 - June 2
Opening Reception and Performance: Saturday May 12, 8 pm, Free
Toronto Free Gallery, 1277 Bloor Street West

If I Were a Monument is an exhibition by renowned artist Louise Liliefeldt. The exhibition consists of paintings and installations that deal with the issue of loneliness. The images Liliefeldt creates are born from a very personal place, as dementia and caregiving have been part of her immediate family, perhaps exaggerating the solitude of both the person who has dementia and the caregiver. The images surrounding the walls of the gallery represent images of what loneliness would feel like if she were a monument erected to honor the lives of others.

The performance work presented at the opening is also inspired by the notion of the feeling of being solitary, without companionship, or isolated. Her actions also speak to memory, questioning how lonely we are at any given time.

Co-sponsored by Toronto Free Gallery.

Food Fight: Resisting Austerity
Wednesday May 9, 7 pm, Free
FoodShare, 90 Croatia Street

Poverty and Health: The Special Diet is a short video on the affects of poverty on health and specifically the provincial social assistance benefit known as the Special Diet Allowance that was recently gutted by the provincial government. The video is a joint project produced by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).

Set to the musical composition and direction of Jaydahmann and accompanied by the vocals of Jacquline Dyer and Ramla Aden, Food Justice - Lawrence Heights is a video that calls for affordable, healthy food for everyone. Produced by Lawrence Heights Youth Food Justice Group, this video takes an inspiring look at the problems, the current situation and the community's hopes for the future.

Afterwards there will be a panel discussion on the issues with healthcare workers, trade unionists and anti-poverty activists, including Liisa Schofield and Ange Holmes, and Jessie Zorzella.

Co-sponsored by Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and Lawrence Heights Youth Food Justice Group.

WORKSHOPS/FORUMS

Remembering Our Public Services: A Creative Workshop
Sunday May 13, 1 - 3 pm, Free
Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street

Join the DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC MEMORY for a hands-on investigation of our research on Toronto's public services. Learn about what the DEPARTMENT does during a short year-in-review presentation. Then role up your sleeves and dive into the fascinating material we've gathered in our conversations with Toronto service users. How do we keep the memory of lost public services alive? How can these memories foster future struggles for improved public service?

The DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC MEMORY's mandate is to mark city services under threat.

Mayworks gratefully acknowledges the support of our union donors, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, radio sponsors CIUT 89.5 fm, and online media sponsor rabble.ca

Photographs: Kris Erickson, Shannon Cochrane
Poster art: Tariq Sami