ILPC 2027

 This paper examines the relationship between art and labour organising.  Historically, there has been only a limited use of art linked to labour organising. Following Hyman’s (2002) point that traditional labour organising prioritised mechanical solidarity, we argue that a key reason for the lack of engagement between art and labour organising has been the disjuncture between uniform mechanical solidarity and art works, which tend to be cultural expressions open to multiple readings. If the future of labour organising should lie with a new form of organic collaborative solidarity, as number of authors argue, does this open up a new space for the role of art in labour organising?  We address this first conceptually by articulating an ideal type of the art of organic solidarity – an array of participatory art practices that are symbiotic with organising for collaborative organic solidarity   Then we consider the utility of this ideal type in the analysis of an extreme case - Justice For Domestic Workers, a self-help group of migrant domestic workers in London which prioritises organic over mechanical solidarity.  We draw on extensive ethnographic research of this case.  In this case, art was constructed as a safe space for participation, in which both individual and collective identities of workers were articulated, and in which a form of cognitive questioning took place. We show that the use of art in this case appears successful and sustainable.  We argue that the successful use of art in this case stemmed from the symbiosis between the flat participative (related to organic solidarity) modes of both organising and art use.  We conclude that there may be more opportunity for art in labour organising in an era where organic solidarity is emphasised than existed in the era when the mechanical ‘Solidarity Forever’ was the song to be sung.