Art is Labor

Recognizing artists as workers who explore social and economic justice through and exhibit of contemporary artwork and historical collections

The “Art Is Labor” exhibition, curated by Dail Chambers, opened in December 2019 at the  Arcade Contemporary Art Projects Gallery of The Webster University Gateway Campus.

The exhibit highlighted labor history as seen through art and artifacts, with a focus on Saint Louis. The selected works explore topics such as social and economic justice and labor history. Contemporary artwork was curated alongside historical collections of ephemera, text, and artifacts to build a narrative that speaks of the workers of our time and recognizes artists as workers.

A cocktail party celebrating the opening of the Art Is Labor exhibit and Bread and Roses’ 5 year anniversary honored activists Percy Green and Jamala Rogers as social justice champions, and featured a preview performance from the 2020 Workers’ Opera.