Great Labor Arts Exchange
Encyclopedia
The Great Labor Arts Exchange is an annual arts festival
in Silver Spring, Maryland
, which celebrates the labor history of the United States
as well as preserves, advances and promotes the culture of the American labor movement
.
In June 1979, Joe Glazer
, a composer, musician and educator active in the American labor movement, invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
in Silver Spring to share labor-related musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange (GLAE).
Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation
as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
GLAE remains the largest and most prominent program of the Labor Heritage Foundation. The festival now includes a variety of artistic and cultural endeavors, such as cartooning, painting, film, puppetry, street theater, and photography. GLAE participants have included singer Pete Seeger
, artist Ralph Fasanella
, photographer Earl Dotter and poet Chris Llewellyn
.
The Labor Heritage Foundation began presenting the Joe Hill Award
in 1989. The award, given during GLAE, honors individuals for a body of work in the field of labor culture.
Arts festival
An arts festival is a festival that focuses on the visual arts in all its forms, but which may also focus on or include other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions and are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival...
in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, which celebrates the labor history of the United States
Labor history of the United States
The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, as well as the more general history of working people, in the United States. Pressures dictating the nature and power of organized labor have included the evolution and power of the corporation, efforts by employers...
as well as preserves, advances and promotes the culture of the American labor movement
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
.
In June 1979, Joe Glazer
Joe Glazer
Joe Glazer , closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as the "labor's troubadour," was a US-American folk musician who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career....
, a composer, musician and educator active in the American labor movement, invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
National Labor College
The National Labor College is the only accredited higher education institution in the United States devoted exclusively to educating union members, leaders and staff. It was established as a training center by the AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizing skills...
in Silver Spring to share labor-related musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange (GLAE).
Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation
Labor Heritage Foundation
The Labor Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization which preserves and disseminates information and artifacts about the labor history of the United States.-History:...
as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
GLAE remains the largest and most prominent program of the Labor Heritage Foundation. The festival now includes a variety of artistic and cultural endeavors, such as cartooning, painting, film, puppetry, street theater, and photography. GLAE participants have included singer Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, artist Ralph Fasanella
Ralph Fasanella
Ralph Fasanella was a self-taught painter whose large, detailed works depicted urban working life and critiqued post-World War II America.-Early life:...
, photographer Earl Dotter and poet Chris Llewellyn
Chris Llewellyn (poet)
-Life:She graduated from Warren Wilson College.Her work appeared in Pudding House.She married Justice Department lawyer Edward Bordley. They live in a small Northeast Washington, D.C. apartment, and have a daughter, Elizabeth Bordley.-External links:...
.
The Labor Heritage Foundation began presenting the Joe Hill Award
Joe Hill Award
The Joe Hill Award is an annual arts festival award.The award is named for Joe Hill, a radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World. He was executed for murdering a local anti-union businessman and his son...
in 1989. The award, given during GLAE, honors individuals for a body of work in the field of labor culture.