September 1997 was the first Chicago Labor & Arts Festival held in. It was hold in conjunction with the completion and dedication of a mural produced on the Chicago UE building by lead artist Daniel Manrique from Mexico. This followed the earlier mural completed by Mike Alewitz, from New Jersey, in the building of the Mexican union, FAT.
The mission of the festival is to showcase art that celebrates the joys and struggles of working-class people. The festival can also continue the process of developing the annual festival. By holding this event, it can stimulate artists to respond, either individually or collectively, to the social challenges of the changing work and community environment.
The connection between art and labor has been a matter of artistic concern for many years. Evidence of this is seen in the inspiration that labor themes have given to writers and visual artists for centuries, though we remember it mostly from our the history in the depression.
More recently, in the 1980’s, activists in Chicago connected with Guild Books and in Los Angeles with Midnight Special began activities which were called “Art Meets Labor” and “Art Works”, respectively. When the festival was initiated in 1997, Chicago’s labors were partly conscious of some of these connections.
In the winter of 1997—most significantly—the UE announced that they planned for Mike Alewitz to complete his mural in April, and for Daniel Manrique to complete his in September. Since Guild Books had closed in 1993, attempts to get an ongoing committee to expand the political discussions aspect of the Guild Complex had foundered. The time seemed right to initiate a program that celebrated the connection between arts and labor.