Hamilton’s north end is celebrating many major milestones this year. With the historic Custom House turning 150 and the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre (WAHC) turning 15, the team on Stuart Street is seeing a busy year.

The crew is led by Executive Director Elizabeth McLuhan who will also be celebrating her first year at the WAHC in September. With several years of experience in the arts industry and a plethora of knowledge and background experience as a writer, curator, director and professor in the art and history fields, McLuhan makes a great addition to the WAHC.

“The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre is a national centre and it’s also both an art and a history museum,” said McLuhan. “I think I bring an energy. I bring a national perspective. I’ve worked across the country for art museums, art galleries, history museums – I’ve got a long history in Toronto.”

McLuhan hopes to put the centre on the map on a national level to raise awareness about the importance of labour history.

“Everything you read about you see a lack of information about workers,” said McLuhan. “You always hear about the loss in the company but nobody mentions the workers who died. These kinds of things are needed more than ever.” She said that it’s especially important during difficult economic times because it helps people maintain proper focus.

One of the first things that McLuhan did when arriving to the WAHC was bring attention to something that the Board of Directors almost missed – a double anniversary.

“Fifteen years ago the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre opened it doors and it was 150 years ago that the Custom House opened its doors. This to me was a moment of wonderful revelation. It was a significant moment in time,” said McLuhan.

The Custom House represents many things in Hamilton. Built in 1860, the two-storey building’s original purpose was to handle Hamilton trade flowing through the Port of Hamilton and along the new Great Railway line. And the timeline of the building since then is truly a demonstration of labour history and the mandate of the WAHC.

“One of the interesting things about this building is that it predates confederation and it was a federal building,” said McLuhan. “So it has a really important role in the history of Hamilton because back then [Hamilton] was considered as a possible Ottawa.”

She said the Prime Minister of Upper and Lower Canada at that time lived in Hamilton and had the railway built. “The Custom House was established as kind of an augury that great things were going to happen,” said McLuhan.

After the Custom Department left, the building played many roles in the city. It was a government landmark, a house of education, a factory and even a home to several Hamilton residents.

Several notable Hamilton companies inhabited the building at some point in its history including the Hamilton Board of Education, the YWCA, the Associated Charities of Hamilton, a Martial Arts Academy, a computer company and several different kinds of factories including a macaroni, doughnut and olive factory. It even acted as a warm home to several people throughout history including a caretaker and a janitor. The building has seen fires, floods, abandonment, repairs, an additional third floor added, and more recently, restoration.

But that doesn’t even begin to describe the history of the building.

“It’s one of the few pre-confederation buildings left in Ontario, if not in the whole country so it predates Canada,” said Ian Walker, Labour Heritage Coordinator who’s been at the WAHC on and off since 2003. “It’s 150 this year so it’s great to see the historical architecture of the building preserved in Hamilton. It’s right in our backyard and many people don’t even know it’s here.”

In 1995, the building met its most recent occupant, and the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre finally opened its doors to the community in ’96 after a year of renovations.

“The WAHC figured the Custom House would be a perfect home. It’s always been a workplace from the time it was a Custom House,” said Walker. “Indirectly or directly, people have always worked through or with the building.” The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre has since made the Custom House its home filling the historic landmark with several exhibits, which displays art that tells the history and stories of working people.

The WAHC is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, but the idea of recognizing and valuing Canadian workers existed long before that. Walker said that in the 1980s, the WAHC existed but didn’t have a home yet.

“It was more of an idea,” said Walker. The organization was Toronto-based and operated through publications instead of a tangible building at that point. “Initially, they were going to make the organization in Toronto and then the original group members were talking about potential ideas for a place,” said Walker. “They thought that Hamilton would be a much better region for the centre because of the long industrial history here.”

The exhibitions at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre showcases a variety of different mediums and messages, including exhibitions that pays tribute to women workers and immigrant workers. This along with its travelling exhibitions, online exhibitions and outreach program, the Labour History Team, all help to educate minds on the importance of labour history.

“All of the exhibits in the galleries have really amazing things in them that really speak to the history of working people,” said Walker. He said that labour history reveals the heritage of every person. “It’s something that’s often ignored but extremely important.”

As Hamilton’s north end celebrates a double anniversary of labour history, 60 kilometres away, another workers organization is celebrating a milestone too.

“Creative Resistance: Celebrating 25 years of Mayworks” was an exhibition from Toronto on display at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre during the months of May and June, 2010 to support another group’s aim to achieve the same goal.

“It’s important to showcase the versatility and innovation of artists dealing with issues of labour and social justice as well as to counteract the negative images in the public about work and working class people,” said Florencia Berinstein, Director of the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts. “Labour history is so seldom taught or talked about, yet it’s such an important part of the fabric of society. Working class people make up our society and it’s profoundly a part of our lives.”
Berinstein said that throughout the history of labour, workers fought for social equity and society has become better because of these contributions. “It’s important that all these complexities be recognized,” said Berinstein.

In support of the Custom House’s long history of labour, the WAHC continues to shine a light on the contribution of workers and unions through art and education. And it is the only one of its kind in Canada.

“There are other workers museums and galleries but none that focus on a national level. We are a national organization and we focus on the history across the country – not just the history of Hamilton or Ontario,” said Walker. “You can find mining museums or you can find logging museums. But none that focuses on the struggle of working people on a national level.”

There are many plans for the Custom House as it celebrates its sesquicentennial year including restoration projects, endowment fund plans, and a block party in September to celebrate McLuhan’s one-year and the double anniversary of the organization and building. McLuhan said she also has big plans for the organization in the coming years.

“I want to put us on the map nationally and raise awareness. I want to build more programs, art shows and history shows to continue to remind people about the contributions of workers.” She said she also wants to broaden the base of support in terms of attendance and financial sustainability. “We’re looking at an endowment fund for the building, and we’re looking at programs that appeal nationally and internationally.”

“Come here and check it out because not only is it an awesome building, it’s a great historical landmark to see,” said Walker.
The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre often hosts tours called, “The Many Lives of the Custom House,” which explores and educates visitors on the history of the 150-year-old building and the working people.

“I promised that the average person, if they haven’t been in already, will be surprised,” said McLuhan. “We are a national treasure inside a national treasure.”

Photos by Jeff Tessier

I met Steve Sinnicks at the Lionshead Pub on John Street and he let me pummel him with questions for this month’s H Magazine. Sinnicks started out a drummer in Niagara Falls when he was 15. He picked up the guitar at age 27, and has been playing gigs, festivals, and bars ever since. Steve speaks often of solidarity, and is a self-identified leftist. During our discussion, I learned that he has some sharp insights and observations about the world, and also the Hamilton scene on a more micro level. He studied Drama and Labour at McMaster university, which is quite the combination. He is also quite possibly the edgiest folk musician I’ve ever met. He has three albums, Slow Learner, If You Don’t Want the Genie, Don’t Rub the Lamp, and his current Red Meat and Blue 88’s, which won the 2009 Hamilton Music Award for Best Folk/Roots Record of the Year. All of these are available on Sinnicks’ website.

Heather Judson: What is your occupation and/or calling?
Steve Sinnicks: My occupation is music. My calling, I’m still waiting for.

HJ: What is your most marked characteristic?
SS: Anonymity, thanks.

HJ: What is your most treasured possession?
SS: That’d be two things. One of them is a hand written post card I got from Neil Peart when I was a kid. He was on the advisory board for Modern Drummer Magazine and I sent him a big, long, rambling letter and he sent me back a hand-written post-card saying, “It doesn’t matter about so and so, just keep doing what you’re doing”. And the other one I’m waiting to acquire. (He wouldn’t give me any hints.)

HJ: What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
SS: Hopelessness.

HJ: What is your idea of happiness?
SS: Not having to get up early in the morning. Not having anybody bothering me. People walking around with a wee bit of a smile. Ah, somewhere where there’s no Tories I guess.

HJ: What talent would you most like to have that you do not already possess?
SS: Self-sustaining flight.

HJ: What trait do you most value in women?
SS: Honesty, or a bad lawyer.

HJ: What trait do you most value in men?
SS: Absence.

HJ: Who has influenced you on your path?
SS: The first real musician that I played with in Hamilton was a guy named Michael J. Birthelmer. Old school guy, very talented, very loving guy. And through him I started meeting a lot of the old school Hamilton guys. The work ethic in Hamilton is different from other places. BC, Vancouver, drives me nuts. You can’t get anything done. I haven’t been out there in years but it takes so long to get things done. And in Toronto, it’s “whose arse are you kissing down at the Horseshoe?” Hamilton is more known for individual recognition than it is for collective recognition. There are some very successful bands, like the Killjoys and Teenage Head and Junk House. But the international recognition has always been for individuals like Dan Lanois. Hamilton’s a good place for self starters. So meeting Michael J, and meeting others through festivals has…you play with as many people as you can.

HJ: What is your worst nightmare?
SS: Brooks and Dunn. On a loop.

HJ: What is your favourite Hamilton hangout?
SS: You’re sitting in it.

HJ: Who is your Hamilton Hero?
SS: Sam Lawrence.

HJ: Who is your Hamilton Heroine?
SS: There’s so many. Usually, in Hamilton, women are the ones picking up the ball and getting things done.

HJ: What is your favourite source of local news?
SS: I’ll look in on things like H Magazine, and take cursory glances at the View. CFMU is an excellent source of news. The Skydragon puts out a lot of nifty stuff. The Spec’s a bit of a sad case. At some point in time, at the Hamilton Spectator building, Wade Hemsworth and Mark MacNeil will just be playing battleship with each other, on their computers, while there is an archery practice going on.

HJ: What do you love most about Hamilton?
SS: I live here and it’s an easy commute. My little house in Corktown and the people I’ve come to know in my neighbourhood. I like the determination of people here. There are some people who are determined to do things here, and some people are determined to clog it up. I’ve always thought that, given the opportunity, people in Hamilton will try to get things done.

HJ: What do you like least about Hamilton?
SS: The days when the people who shoot themselves in the foot actually win.

HJ: How would you describe our current civic leaders?
SS: Like any other group of people. Some are genuine, some are not so genuine. A lot of them are like a bunch of pygmies. You can’t find them in the long grass. Like Bob Bratina’s a buddy of mine; he lives around the corner from me. Eisenberger’s a nice guy. But like I said, some good, some bad.

HJ: Who would you like to see run for Mayor?
SS: The job of Mayor is not nearly as important – the Mayor basically has more air time, but it’s basically one vote on council. It’s not like an American city where municipal politics have a lot more sway and the Mayor really is … well, anybody but bloody DiIanni.

HJ: What values do you think Hamiltonians, on the whole, espouse?
SS: Depends on where you are. If it’s Saturday at 3am in Hess Village – not very good ones. If you’re walking down Wellington you’ll get a much different vibe than you will on the Mountain. What do they espouse? I have no idea. You should ask THEM.

HJ: What values do you think Hamiltonians should embrace?
SS: A little more collective action. A little more solidarity. You look at this town, it’s very segmented. You’ve got the mountain, you’ve got that area that ends at the 403. I’m surprised McMaster University doesn’t push for Canada Customs. A lot of people will run to Toronto before they’ll check out what’s in their backyard. I would just encourage people to spend more money here.

A short while ago, I was watching a new superhero movie at the Jackson Square cinemas. The film was set in an unspecified American city beset by violence: muggings, drug use and organized crime crop up regularly in the film, and the main hero is a nerd-turned-vigilante who becomes a celebrity after a video of him beating up some thugs “goes viral” on the internet. Yes, the movie was Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, and I had mixed feelings about the plot and treatment of the superhero genre insofar as an underlying theme involves celebrating a seeming loss innocence, and the embracing of violence as a way of improving one’s life and environment. But then, haven’t these two elements been presupposed by comic books almost since their inception? Perhaps the film is just revealing, in a new way, what has been present in comic book culture all along.

The scene when the hero named Kick-Ass first meets with the Red Mist character generated a particular thrill. The characters meet in the kind of place one would expect two adolescent boys-turned-masked vigilantes to rendezvous: a decrepit alleyway with brick walls, broken pavement and deep shadows, littered with trash and smeared with grime—not the type of alley one would take one’s poodle for a walk through, but good enough for a clandestine meeting between two people with something to hide. As the camera shifts angles, one can see that out front of said alley a backlit plastic sign with blue lettering announces “Kohler’s”, and it was at that moment I was best by a feeling that I couldn’t quite place. Wait! Rewind the film! Yes, the alley used for this scene was the fetid corridor linking James Street with the parking lot where the Zellers used to be. Kick-Ass and Red Mist were hanging out in downtown Hamilton, just a few hundred metres from my seat in the movie theatre!

The strange thing was that there didn’t seem to be anything strange about this. It seemed, in fact, the most natural thing in the world to see downtown Hamilton represented on the big screen, complete with super heroes and a souped-up Mist-mobile. After all, didn’t the Hulk get clobbered by the Abomination a few summers ago, just a couple blocks to the south and east? And wasn’t that a panorama of Hamilton I saw from the windows of the N.E.R.D. Corporation headquarters at the end of the recently released sci-fi flick Splice? The caravans of white trailers, the thick power cables that snake across the sidewalks, and the marker-scrawled sandwich boards indicative of film production crews are an everyday sight in Hamilton, with City Hall offering significant tax cuts to movie companies in the hopes of attracting the entertainment industry to the city. And so, despite the fact that Kick-Ass enjoyed wide release in thousands of theatres across North America, none of which (save one) could boast to having the alley where part of the movie was filmed just across the street, it was not so surprising to find myself situated a stones’ throw away from the actual space depicted on the screen before me.

An even stranger breaching of the divide between art and reality occurred last summer as I was taking out the recycling from my apartment on James Street North. Through the window of the door at the bottom of the stairs, I could see a woman examining produce in one of the grocer’s fruit stands flanking the entrance to the building. I thought nothing of it, opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk to find myself interrupting a film shoot. The woman “buying” fruit wasn’t a shopper at all but an extra, and a slightly irate cameraman had to stop filming while I carted my blue box to the curb. The net effect of these close encounters with video is the rendering strange of the public, everyday, shared realm of the city streets and infrastructure. What Jean Baudrillard called the production of “hyperreality”, or the process by which the spectacularized representation of the world redounds upon its actual lived experience, making it difficult to distinguish between the two, seems to have infiltrated to the very heart of shared public space, even up to our doorsteps. The rendering of the everyday surreal—to the extent that our downtowns become something like an open movie studio—has its perks, and I was considering starting a Hamilton film location tour replete with a double-decker bus and illustrated maps. The problem is, hyperreality also includes its inverse effect: not only does reality become to seem like a movie, but movies become like reality, and I worry about being able to convince enough interested people to come downtown to make my business plan viable.

I keep a journal of all the times, while sitting in a café or restaurant in, say, the periphery of town, that I overhear someone speak of the city core as if it were some kind of zombie-infested wasteland. “Downtown! Don’t go there unless you want to get…[fill in your violation of choice here].” I enjoy living downtown, and I find it sad when sensationalized tropes from filmic fantasies get confused with the everyday reality of urban life in Hamilton. I think it is important to ask ourselves as a community what it means when shared, public space is commoditized and sold back to us as the backdrop to the latest, usually violent, movie or TV show. Is it because we lack other means of collectively representing ourselves to each other and to the greater world that we thrill to catch glimpses of Hamilton streets and buildings embedded in the background of a car chase or detective story? On Friday last, before the media drama of the G20 protests in Toronto had fully erupted, I was listening to a Toronto radio station. The placid voice of the traffic announcer warned citizens not to go downtown; if they were curious as to what was happening at the heart of their city, they should watch the news. Granted, the corner of Bay and University usually has an air of outer space about it, but is the banning of residents from walking their own streets, and the injunction for them to interact with this now-forbidden zone via their television sets not a prime example of the sort of spectacularizing of the commons that critics like Baudrillard have tried to warn us about?

The similarity of the G20 protests to an apocalyptic film, complete with burning cars and black-clad vigilantes, seems largely encouraged by the reconfiguration of public space that went on during the weeks leading up to the event: the protesters, police and by-standers became so many background actors to a spectacle, orchestrated ahead of time, by the power elite, and it seems ironic that the more than 600 protestors who were arrested were detained and “processed” in a structure that normally serves as a movie studio. While the spectacular violence of the G20 protests might seem a far cry from the temporary rental of our downtown streets to movie production companies, these two phenomena are part of a larger trend towards the appropriation, spectacularization and commoditization of public space, wherein movies and “reality” start to appear like one another, and we feel trapped in a narrative somebody else has written. One way to counter this is to step back and think about what our streets and public spaces mean to, and say about, us. Take some time to walk down the street and soak in the rhythms, colours, sights, sounds and smells of the city. Are you surprised at the lack of flesh-eating zombies, masked vigilantes or mutated super-villains? Don’t be. These are still our streets no matter how many foreign dignitaries visit our neighbour to the north, or how many blockbuster production budgets help pad our own city’s expense accounts.

On its first day of opening, August 9th, 2010, I am sitting in the Mulberry Street Coffeehouse in the old Hotel Hamilton building. It is raining outside and buzzing in here. I’m drinking sugar and caffeine and wish I wasn’t since I’ve already had too much today. I see the reflection of a red and cream period Waterfront bus going downtown wiz past in the large tall window that is newly framed in pine beside me. Most of the walls in here are exposed red brick or painted white or yellow with concrete and wood surrounding the doorways. Art lines the walls in one of the two rooms. Where the old mosaic and stone is not polished and preserved, dark hardwood covers the floors. There are doors that lead nowhere but look good—their age meticulously shown off with peeling paint in vintage colours. The main counter-top is made of poured concrete with pieces of the mosaic floor embedded in it. A recovered ornate plaster ceiling painted in cream is overhead. In front of where I sit is a large paper lamp with historic black and white photos of houses in front of a factory, a downtown church, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and other city and residential streetscapes, one of which looks like James Street North. The lighting consists of: drop down bare bulbs on thick black wires, chandeliers and ceiling spotlights. Daylight streams in even on this rainy day. The atmosphere is bright and airy.

I believe, if I heard right, a sweet potato coconut loaf (not shown on the menu) is being made behind me. Here you can eat, for example, local and organic: brownies, banana bread, lemon yogurt cake, broccoli and cheddar muffins, frittata, quiche, and paninis. And drink fairtrade and shadegrown: (iced) coffee, (iced) latte, (iced) mochaccino, (iced) caramel vanilla latte, cappuccino, espresso, a various assortment of teas, Italian sodas, juices and smoothies.

I have been here for less than half an hour and two people I know have come in and at least three more checked it out earlier. I see laptops, iPhones, cell phones and a large medical textbook being used on the twelve or so tables. Deals are being made, work is being done and friends are meeting. I joke about the weather and make polite conversation with people. I sit here using my laptop to write, and feel comfortable getting up and leaving it as I walk around.

I hear “hellos” and the words “volunteering,” “potential,” “art,” “international calibre,” “after party” and “art crawl” in the air. “Material World” by Madonna is playing just loud enough to hear every word of the song, mostly muffle out the conversations all around and allow me to hear my own thoughts. I think how perfect that this song is playing right now in this place where the materiality of bricks and stones and histories and futures meet. Madonna is followed by The Beatles’ “Let it Be,” and I can’t help but think about the contrasts these two sentiments offer this street.

This coffee shop was long anticipated; both passionately hoped for and, in some cases, feared for James Street North. It’s the coffee shop that wasn’t here before. The one made “for us,” in a largely Portuguese and Italian neighbourhood full of espresso machines, as some have said to me. I’m both excited and unsure. It’s not a Starbucks—that often dreaded and often welcomed symbol of capital and change—but I still paid $7.80 for a dessert square and an iced coffee. It’s not a Starbucks but it potentially signals a shift on this street. For good or ill. Time will tell.

“We are living in a material world.”

“Whisper words of wisdom. Let it be.”

Enthusiasm for architecture comes naturally to Shannon Kyles. Her father, Lloyd, and grandfather, J.D., were architects with their own firm in Hamilton—Kyles, Kyles & Garrett—and were responsible for, or participated in, the design and construction of local landmarks like the Pigott Building and Westdale High School.

Kyles began her career working with computers and taught the first CAD (Computer-aided Design) course in Canada, followed by work in mechanical engineering and came back to architecture as a professor teaching architecture courses at Mohawk College. She then bought and restored a farmhouse in Hamilton and began noticing that people in the community were buying beautiful, old houses and tearing them down or ruining them. “After a while, I realized they were doing that because they didn’t know any better,” Kyles relayed. “In 1998, I was teaching the history of architecture, and nobody had any courses on Ontario architecture so I started one. Mine is still the only course, per se. I thought, we need a web site.” Kyles built a site for her students and in 2002 requested a year’s sabbatical to develop her site for public use. She created it with the goal that, through education, she could contribute to a better environment for everyone to live in. “The more you get out what the different styles are, the less likely people are to buy a beautiful house and demolish it,” she contended. The result is a stunning presentation of her photos and scholarly descriptions of architectural terms; the site gets over one million hits per month. Users are able to identify features of their homes, and Kyles receives frequent emails asking for help determining house styles or for sources of building materials (such as windows and porches) to restore heritage buildings.

As well as teaching architecture full time and via distance education at Mohawk College, Kyles is a sought-after speaker. She is also historical architecture editor for the magazine, Arabella, which is hosting an architectural photography contest, “Exploring the Countryside,” suggested by Kyles. The history of the building styles included in the contest was provided by Kyles, with her photos. Her latest project is rebuilding a Regency cottage from Ancaster that would otherwise have been demolished. “There’s no reasonable plan for development in Ontario, and there’s no money for heritage,” she reflected. With a team of volunteers, she dismantled the structure in March and April 2010 and will reconstruct and restore it on land she recently purchased in Consecon, Ontario, in Prince Edward County. “It’s a beautiful, historic property—great for people to go brainstorming or on corporate retreats,” she shared. Kyles said she could write a book about the endeavour. See here for her documentation of the experience so far. “This is Canadian history, who we are,” she declared. “I’m obsessed with trying to save things and old architecture so people will appreciate it. Like the 1950s neighbourhoods—guys came back from the war and built gorgeous, little houses with wonderful back yards and the kids had freedom to run. Nobody knew where the property lines were.”

Raised in Ancaster, Kyles was introduced by her grandfather to a life-long love of sketching old buildings. “My students love to go out and draw,” Kyles confided. “Some of them don’t know at first what a lancet arch is or a keystone. So I get them out actually looking at the stuff, because there’s something about when you sketch a building, you see it more clearly.” After 12 years as a professor, Kyles wound up with a collection of her students’ extraordinary architectural drawings and is working with the Art Gallery of Hamilton to put on a show of them. There are 60 or 70 drawings for the collection, some on CAD and some hand drawn. “We’ll have a catalogue—maybe a sale—and there are three judges: Tony Butler, architect and architectural historian; Craig Sims, architectural historian and Ken Coit, urban designer,” she enthused. Kyles believes that looking at drawings of buildings will encourage people to go back and reflect upon the real thing.

“The truly green building is the building that is already there,” Kyles affirmed. “Don’t put it in landfill and replace it with something that’s half as good. Just restore what you’ve got. There’s all sorts of restoration products to get things back to their original state. You can feel if a house has been well taken care of. You walk through the door and it gives an air of contentment. It doesn’t cost more to make it look attractive; to get the proportions right takes a bit of thinking. A house that looks happy is one that fits into its environment.”

Her future projects include the launch of a second web site based on architecture of the western world. “I’ll never retire,” Kyles confessed. “I’m nuts.” She is fortunate enough to live her passion. Please enjoy her inspiring web site at www.ontarioarchitecture.com

The James North Art Crawl is happening again this Friday, Aug. 13 starting at 7pm. A few new additions to the list of destinations this month including Mulberry Street Coffee House and Hammer City Records. Experience the art renewal happening on James North first hand and be part of something truly unique and local to Hamilton. Doors open at 7pm and the event is free to attend unless noted.

This Ain’t Hollywood, 345 James St. N. • www.thisainthollywood.ca
ART CRAWL PARTY with THE BLUE DEMONS & THE BENVEREENS.

All Souls Church, 21 Barton St. W. • All Souls Church streetview
We’re happy to open our doors and welcome visitors to tour the church (built in 1922) displaying sacred religious art, painted by local artist in the early 50’s Pippo Agro. He set up shop on James North way back when…

Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne St. • www.artword.net/artbar
Doug Carter’s paintings and drawings of musicians are on display to Aug. 29. In conjunction with the release of his book, “Cool Fool: blues rockin’ in the Hammer” is a memoir of music in Hamilton. The launch on Aug. 14 includes readings by Doug Carter, Slim Volumes, and music by Ron Copple of Eddies Club Blues.

Blue Angel Gallery, 243 James St. N. 905.522.8735 • www.blueangelgallery.ca
Featuring abstract art from both emerging and established artists. August features metal art by Ihor Demychuk.

Books & Beats, 170 James St. N.
Featuring CLONE HARDWARE – upcycled e-waste into wearable art jewelry.

The Brain, 199 James St. N.

Christ’s Church Cathedral, 252 James St. N. 905.527.1316 • www.cathedralhamilton.ca
The front courtyard features stallholders from the Makers’ Market. Unique, handmade and locally made goods!

The Clay Studio, 175 James St. N.

Downtown Bike Hounds, 6 Cannon St. E.905-525-9497 • www.bikehounds.ca

The Factory Media Arts Centre, 126 James St. N. 905.577.9191 • www.hamiltonmediaarts.org
Second Friday of every month will feature the Factory Works Screening Series. This month features Off The Map – a selection of short films and videos by young, emerging directors concerned with the aesthetics of alternative story-telling.

Gallery on 4 Central Library, 55 York Blvd. • www.hpl.ca
Irena Komadinic’s paintings grace the walls of Central’s Library’s Gallery on 4 during the month of August. Irena studied at McMaster University and Sheridan College receiving an Honours B.A. in Visual Arts in 2004. She has worked in various media including sculpture, printmaking, installation and textile art.

Hamilton HIStory + HERitage, 165 James St. N. 905.526.1405 • www.historyandheritage.ca
There is a City – multi-media love poem to Hamilton with photos by Aaron Segaert. The Grand Durand Garden Tour – Photographs by Sylvia Edwards.

Hamilton Artists Inc., 161 James St. N. 905.529.3355 • www.hamiltonartistsinc.on.ca
Half-life, the paintings of Teri Donovan continues to Aug. 14. “Dopplegangbanger” outdoor installation by Mark Ainslie on display all month on the cladding next to the gallery space.

Hammer City Records, 228 James St. N @ Robert • www.schizophrenicrex.com
Schizophrenic Records have found a sweet home for some of their great releases and distro items. Celebrate the launch of Hammer City Records as they feature art and music from some of the great artists they have worked with.

James North Studio, 328 James St. N. • jamesnorthartcollective.wordpress.com
SUMMER EXHIBITION PART II – Features new works (switched up from last month) for the continuation of the Summer Exhibition by new and old (aka original) Collective members.

Loose Canon Gallery, 150 James St. N. 905.515.4346 • www.loosecanongallery.com
The Skateboard Art Show featuring works done on skate decks by Matt McInnes, Mark Byk, Victoria Al- stein, Luis Mora, Bryce Huffman, Manny Trinh and many others. Curated by Paul Antic.

Melanie Gillis Photography, 126 James St. N. 3^rd Flr. 905.297.1196 • www.melaniegillis.com

Mex-I-Can, 107 James St. N.
Featuring art and music and of course fantastic Mexican food!

Mixed Media, 154 James St. N. 905.529.2323 • www.mixedmediahamilton.com
Collage, drawings, photographs and photocopied art inspired by zine culture by Chelsea Watt to Sept. 4. Window features metal work by Jarrod Hogeterp.

Moveable Feast Gallery, 301 James St. N. • www.hamiltonmovablefeast.info

Olinda’s Fashion Studio, 172 James St. N.
Featuring original fashion designs & alterations.

The Print Studio, 173 James St. N. 905.524.5084 • www.theprintstudio.ca
Studio 12: Four Corners to Aug. 14. Studio 12 is a photographic artists’ collective founded in 2009. The collective is best described as a participatory group of artist individuals who share in the common objective of developing and sharing their artistic skills through the confluence of differing conceptual and formal approaches that each member brings to the group.

Socald Studio Gallery, 244 James St. N. 905.934.7690
These are the Dames I know…

The Sonic Unyon Building, 22 Wilson St.
Featuring the studios of Jenna Rose • Blackbird Studios • Silver Studio, Lori LeMare and Environment Hamilton. Feature show this month is: Lyrical Ephemera: An Exploratory Foray Into Hamilton Poster Art. The works in this exhibition represent the most aesthetically stimulating posters displayed on the streets of Hamilton in recent memory. They serve the dual purpose of communicating/advertising an event or idea, and providing urban dwellers with a pleasurable and memorable aesthetic experience in their everyday life.

The Studios at Hotel Hamilton, 195 James St. N. • www.thestudiosathotelhamilton.com
Home to many creative spaces upstairs and this month sees the opening of Mulberry Street Coffee House on the main floor!

Studios at Vasco da Gama, 175 James St. N. 3^rd Flr.
Art by Victoria Pearce, Deborah Pearce & Jessica Roth

Sylvia Nickerson Illustration, 126 James St. N. 3^rd Flr. 905.730.3288 • www.sylvianickerson.ca

Tivoli Theatre, 108 James St. N. • www.graceloney.net
Featuring MAZE, an installation by Grace Loney out front of the Tivoli Theatre.

Tribal Gallery, 174 James St. N. 905.385.1829
Nomadic, tribal and ethnic jewellery, textiles and artifacts. Featuring paintings by Roger Ferreira and photographs by John Mokrycke and Ken Blackbird.

White Elephant, 133 James St. N. 905-667-0325 • www.whiteelephantvintage.com
Come meet one of our handmade artists, the talented Amy Kenny. There will be demonstrations of how she creates her beautiful pieces and also a selection of both her leather accessories and paintings to view.

Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, 51 Stuart St. 905.522.3003 • www.wahc-museum.ca
Scouring City, Brushing Sky: A Real Labour Arts Project, on display to Sept. 4 in the Main Gallery. The powerful works in the exhibit are created by those who toil in our office buildings or workplaces often after everyone has gone home. Music starts at 9pm and features the Forest City Lovers and Motestra as part of the Shift Change Sessions. Admission is PWYC.

You Me Gallery, 330 James St. N. 905.523.7754 • www.youmegallery.ca
Hip Hop Homage – the Art of Eklipz. 50 original works of Hip Hop legends will be on display celebrating the release of the book of the same name.

Look for a printed map inside H Magazine along the James North route to help find your way.