Abstract

Approaches to education, knowledge and aesthetics are reviewed in order to discuss the role of art in union member education, distinguishing between insurgent art linked to oppositional political projects and dominant forms of Art Proper. Art is observed in terms of both production and consumption, drawing on psychologist Jerome Bruner's notion of knowing for the "right" and "left" hand and cultural-historical approaches to learning. It is argued that labor-based art is an important mediator for expanding labor education and activist development. To illustrate the ideas, a brief case study of a union-based arts production with school custodians in Canada is outlined.