May­Works is a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary fes­ti­val held in May (as well as late April and ear­ly June) that brings arts and cul­ture to and from work­ing peo­ple. The fes­ti­val hon­ours and pro­motes cul­tur­al expres­sions pro­duced by artists depict­ing work­ing class life and aspi­ra­tions as well as by work­ers inter­pret­ing their own lives, work and strug­gles to build a bet­ter world.

May­Works was estab­lished over 25 years ago, inspired by events sur­round­ing the anniver­sary of the 1919 Win­nipeg Gen­er­al Strike, which saw work­ing peo­ple unit­ing against the con­di­tions imposed on them by a social and eco­nom­ic elite, backed by the author­i­ty of gov­ern­ment and the rule of law. It is a his­to­ry that is fresh and rel­e­vant to the present day because the same strug­gle and social divi­sions are still with us.

Dur­ing the May­Works fes­ti­val, work­ers can come togeth­er to enjoy music, art, lit­er­a­ture, plays, films and com­e­dy that cel­e­brate the role that work­ers play in the world today and their con­tin­u­ing strug­gles for pos­i­tive change.

You can view the full pro­gram of May­Works 2023 events here!