MONTREAL- May 9, 2013- The Immigrant Workers Centre is gearing up for its' eighth annual MayWorks festival. This year’s event will feature a debut performance of the Immigrant Workers Centre Community theatre project. Co-created by workers and for workers, the project aims to enable workers to share stories of resistance and dignity in struggle 

Engaging with a variety of media, including theatre, text, video, photography, visual arts, sound and performance,  participants have been working towards a collectively-created performance over the past two months. This initiative also builds upon Migrant Voices project, a grassroots radio project in which workers recorded a series of audio testimonies chronicling their experiences of exploitation, but also of courage and collective power. 

 

"The theatre pieces will explore themes ranging from the experience of living without status, to the process of migration, workplace injustices at the hands agencies and employers alike", said Mostafa Henaway of the Immigrant Workers Centre.  "They will also explore the daily organizing of immigrants for status, equality and better work conditions", he added.

The evening will also feature performances from PINAY cultural group, the South Asian Women's Centre Youth Group, and Les Zimmi Grands choir, among others. Participants are looking forward to a family-friendly evening of food, music, and performances celebrating the struggles of migrant workers through the arts.