Labour Lens is an art- and media-based platform that enables laborers to express themselves in the most authentic and creative ways possible. The idea is to move away from the academic lens often applied to labor, which dictates current norms and is highly exclusionary, offering little agency to laborers themselves. At Labour Lens, we strive to express through the perspective of laborers, not the traditional academic framework.
Labour Lens has evolved from an informal blog called City of Labourers Speaks on social media, which served as a platform to celebrate the lives of laborers. For the initial five years, City of Labourers Speaks was a personal blog, a space for expressing thoughts and stories in every possible way. After running this platform for over half a decade, it felt right to transform it into a public space, where the stories of laborers could reach everyone.
And so, here we are, with a new look and name, brimming with even more enthusiasm and love to showcase the life histories of laborers.
At present, we are running an online art magazine called Labour Chowk as our starting point. Stay tuned for many more exciting projects and initiatives to celebrate the lives of laborers!