The art of labour organizing: Participatory art and migrant domestic workers’ self-organizing in London

Abstract

There has been an upsurge of interest regarding how actors engage with art within organizational processes. However, scholars have tended not to study the role of art within contemporary collective labour organizing. This article focuses on how participatory art may support flat, participative labour organizing, particularly among marginalized, relatively powerless workers. We present an ethnographic account of how art practices are deeply embedded within the flat organizing processes of Justice for Domestic Workers, a self-organizing group of migrant domestic workers in London. We reflect on this case to theorize the art of flat organizing, an ideal type of a set of participatory art practices that are compatible with and supportive of flat labour organizing.