Three festivals concerning the relationship of art and labour occur simultaneously: The Great Labour Arts Exchange in Washington, DC and the concurrent Vancouver and Toronto Mayworks festival. For one week working artists, unions and labourers collaborate or work by themselves on producing a series of works addressing issues surrounding unions, (un)employment, homelessness, class-based societies and working communities. These works are displayed both in and outside of gallery settings, allowing the middleclass to view the work outside of the pretense created by the art world. A wide range of mediums are employed, from photography to performance-based art. As much as an opportunity to raise awareness within the community of artists and workers, Mayworks serves as an opportunity for artists and workers to find common interests and goals in each other's work.