Upcoming exhibition dates have been scheduled during the month of May at Windsor Workers Education Centre (WWEC) and one ten park : a working space. After Work will travel to Leamington in July at the Leamington Arts Centre.
Collette Broeders and Douglas MacLellan began a photo and video documentary project in July 2015 that relates to how migrant workers spend their hours following their work day.
Broeders and MacLellan enjoyed the process of meeting the workers and discovering what they did after work. MacLellan gained certain insights on the shoot, for instance: Migrant workers miss their families; there is little interaction between the Hispanic speaking and Jamaican migrant worker communities; the migrant workers add much economic value to Leamington especially the uptown area; social justice groups appear to be working independently and not in cooperation or communication with each other; the local residents and the migrant workers do not interact in general and each group appears suspicious of the other.
During the course of filming, Broeders became interested in the interaction of the migrant worker within community and the perception of their presence. Although many typical North American routines were adapted to by the migrant workers, there remained an evident discomfort in how the migrant worker integrated within the community. The prevalent mistrust by the worker of the “outside” community or local residents was brought on by years of experience and stories recalled by other workers. MacLellan and Broeders experienced this first hand until the worker found our company to be “safe”. The documentary film, “After Work” and accompanying audio address these issues of discomfort and integration of communities while sharing the experiences of the migrant worker after hours.
The documentary
