At the forthcoming Building Bridges Showcase Event on Tuesday, April 5 at the Bromery Center for the Arts, more than 65 UMass Amherst employees will showcase their creative work. 16th century clothing design, stained glass, pencil drawings, poetry, photography, and more are among the works on display.
The Showcase Event, now in its sixth year, has evolved into an annual gathering where employees and their creative abilities take centre stage. A group of Worker Artists meets weekly in a Building Bridges class and is instrumental in the event’s organising. In the class, creative expression is used to promote debate and the formation of new relationships, resulting in the formation of a supportive cross-campus network and an empathetic community.
The Showcasing Worker Artists at UMass class builds on that tradition, aiming to identify and highlight the artistic abilities of vital workers—those who clean the restrooms, serve food in dining halls, maintain the grounds, or perform clerical tasks—in a way that benefits the UMass community. The Showcase Event will feature projects developed by immigrant workers, oral history projects about UMass frontline employees, cuisine, art demonstrations, workshops, live music, poetry readings, and performance, in addition to an exhibition of worker art.
The Showcasing Worker Artists at UMass class builds on that tradition, aiming to identify and highlight the artistic abilities of vital workers—those who clean the restrooms, serve food in dining halls, maintain the grounds, or perform clerical tasks—in a way that benefits the UMass community. The Showcase Event will feature projects developed by immigrant workers, oral history projects about UMass frontline employees, cuisine, art demonstrations, workshops, live music, poetry readings, and performance, in addition to an exhibition of worker art.