A virtual ceremony once again, as the pandemic abates, but not quickly enough. The ceremony was continues to be a high point of the year—powerful and inspiring. Extraordinary young authors and artists bring us new perspectives on work with their thoughtful non-fiction essays, creative fiction, poetry and visual art. Many of them talk about work that is too often unseen, from the front lines of the new economy where precarious service jobs reign. Their efforts fulfill the goal of this CUNY/LaborArts contest—to expand student thinking about the history of work, and to provide opportunities to make links between individual lived experience and larger social issues.

Hunter College student Tetsuji Nishizono’s painting, Nurses at Central Park Field Hospital is but one example.

Nishizono writes:

Especially in this catastrophic infectious disease epidemic, they bet their lives in desperate times and continued to work, day and night, to save the lives of others. I thank them for giving great courage to many citizens.

We sincerely hope that these young authors and artists continue on with their work—their voices demand to be heard.

Now in its eleventh year, the contest is open to all CUNY undergraduates. Entries are judged according to originality, content and style. Guidelines used for this 2020–2021 contest are here. Student writers and artists draw upon history, their close observation of the world around them, and a wealth of first hand experiences to link their work to the spirit of labor arts. Every year professors judging the contest reflect on the value of providing opportunities for the students to seriously interrogate their own life experiences and that of those around them.

LaborArts is enormously grateful for generous funding for the contest from the Workforce Development Institute and for ongoing support from the Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education.

All photographs courtesy of student awardees.

Background & Credits

The CUNY/Labor Arts contest rewards students for thinking and writing and making art about labor history, broadly defined, and is open to any undergraduate attending a CUNY college. Begun in 2010, it encourages students to write creatively and analytically about work and workers, to make art about work and workers, and to link their efforts to the spirit of LaborArts.

We would like to thank all of the students who submitted work for the 2020–2021 contest, and to congratulate the authors of the prize-winning essays and poems and the creators of the visual art featured in this exhibit. All CUNY students are encouraged to begin considering possible themes for entries in next year’s contest.

The contest is sponsored by LaborArts, with major funding from the Workforce Development Institute. It was organized this year by Rachel Bernstein and Evelyn Jones Rich (LaborArts) and Patrick Kavanagh and Arelis Berroa (CUNY).

Special thanks to the judges: Professor Marcelo Viana Neto (Visual Art), Lecturer Matt Arnold (Poetry), Lecturer Drew Pham (Fiction) and Director of Graduate Studies Patrick Kavanagh (Non-Fiction). Many thanks to the Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education’s director Lucas Rubin and his extraordinary staff, particularly Associate Director Anselma Rodriguez.

Due to the pandemic, a virtual Awards Ceremony was held on November 16, 2021, with keynote speaker Rose Imperato from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. All photographs are courtesy of the student awardees.