AGO on Strike! Community Curator Talk and Art Build with Shawn Clarke and Maureen Da Silva

May Day 2026 at WAHC

Arts workers and cultural spaces are rarely unionized. But what does it look like for one of the largest galleries in the country when their staff go on strike? What does it say about the landscape as a whole? And what do cultural workers need in 2026?

Join WAHC on the eve of May Day for a deeper look at the 2024 AGO strike led by OPSEU Local 535, featured in WORK IN PROGRESS: Fightbacks! We’ll be joined by Community Curator Shawn Clarke and Artist-Educator Maureen Da Silva as they recount their experiences on the picket line, what they were fighting for and what came of this landmark action.

As part of the event, participants will also get a chance to create signs inspired by those designed by striking AGO workers in 2024. Perfect for Hamilton’s May Day march the next day. We’ll provide the inspiration and materials – but the rest is up to you!

Save your spot today!

Image: AGO Strike 2024 photo courtesy of Shawn Clarke.

About Shawn Clarke

Shawn Clarke is an arts worker, singer-songwriter and amateur photographer living in Toronto. As a musician, he writes reflective, honest and often humorous songs about personal relationships and the human condition. Singing and performing with the people he loves and respects has become a simple but essential joy in life. In March of 2024, Clarke joined his co-workers and friends on the picket line at the Art Gallery of Ontario to document their month locked out of the gallery. For him, taking photos gave him purpose, and a unique way to participate in the strike. https://www.shawnwilliamclarke.com/

About Maureen Da Silva

Maureen Da Silva is a printmaker and art educator based in Toronto. She is the Studio Manager of the inPrint Collective where she has been sharing her love of print media since its inception. A 2008 graduate of York University’s BFA program, Maureen has also completed her Masters of Arts at the University of Toronto (2009). Her research in her Women and Gender Studies Master’s program focused on inclusive politics within feminist art collectives. She has also obtained a Certificate in Museum Studies from the Ontario Museum Association (2013). Maureen follows her passion with feminism and art by participating as a member of the Feminist Art Collective (Toronto), where she has been on the outreach, curatorial and grant-writing committees. Maureen can be found on the rosters for inPrint, Arts Etobicoke, Blank Canvases and VIBE Arts, and has taught with various other organizations and grassroots groups across the GTA. She has received two OAC Exhibition Assistance Grants in 2015 and 2018. Maureen’s work considers collage, patterns and refigurations, and embraces failure as a part of her practice which includes screen print, relief print, alternative print methods, as well as bookbinding. https://www.maureendasilva.ca/