Free month-long festival has been running for over 40 years in Toronto

All month long, a free festival is running in Toronto exploring the intersection of art, labour and social justice through mediums that range from theatre, film and animation to installation, music and even public conversation.

Mayworks is putting on the 41st edition of its Festival of Working People and the Arts from May 1 to 31, and it’s been a long road getting here. Mayworks was originally founded in 1986 by artists and trade unionists coming together.

“Mayworks was originally conceived as a platform for the work of artists who embrace the values of the labour movement, and for workers who labour in creative capacities,” Carolyn Combs, director of Mayworks, tells INsauga.com. “It was initially a committee of what is now the Toronto and York Region Labour Council.”

Even within the first few years of the festival’s existence, its definition of labour arts expanded to include migrant workers and women’s work in the 1990s.

“Festival Director Min Sook Lee was pivotal in seeking a broader representation of equity-seeking groups both as audiences and artists,” says Combs.

“The anti-oppression framework she implemented continues to guide us. It challenges Eurocentric and patriarchal understandings of both art and labour, while reaching out to new artists and audiences.”

Fast forward to the 2020s, and Mayworks continued to expand from a festival that took place over a week or two in May to a year-round organization with a month-long festival, a year-long residency program called the Labour Arts Catalyst, a two-year residency called the Conde Beveridge Labour arts residency, an awards ceremony in the fall and other year-round events like film screenings and workshops.

Now, in 2026, the festival is more relevant than ever.

“Artists are reflecting the urgency of the moment where multiple crises, economic, social, political, environmental, are unfolding,” says Combs.

“The lives of working people reflect the interconnectedness of these crises and are introduced to us in this festival: a truck driver in Brampton, a health care worker in Thunder Bay, an activist in Montreal, a miner in Morocco, a sugar cane worker in the Dominican Republic, a guide in Palestine, and a contract worker in Mozambique.”

While Mayworks has grown over the years, the organization still faces challenges and could always use more support in order to continue their growth.

“The financial precarity of the artists with whom we work, as well as our limited lack of resources, is always a challenge,” says Combs. “The importance of opportunities to engage in informed conversation and build solidarity among communities continues to grow, and Mayworks fills this need.”