Lawrence, Labor, and the Promises of the Revolution was an 11-week visual arts program for high school students held by Essex Art Center and Andover Bread Loaf in spring 2026 to explore the legacies of the American Revolution through the lens of the Industrial Revolution in Lawrence. 

Led by artist and educator Liana DeLaCruz, teen participants were invited into a collaborative learning process and guided in creating responses that incorporated their learning about the history of their city and how it relates to the promises of freedom, equality, and the “pursuit of happiness.” Specifically, these topics were explored vis-a-vis the city’s role in the Industrial Revolution and the American labor movement. By focusing on zines as the final result, youth considered the impact of print and the role it played in our history as a nation and as a state, learning about the power of pamphlets during the American Revolution and Industrial Revolution, including “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine and the circulation of flyers to drum up support for the Bread and Roses Strike in Lawrence in 1912. 

Youth visited the Addison Gallery of American Art, Lawrence History Center, and Museum of Printing, and they met with artists and educators, including Louis Bernieri, Mary Guerrero, Gabriel Sosa, and Maggie Wong. The young people also met with historian Robert Forrant, a professor at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, who specializes in the history of labor activism in the Merrimack Valley.  

The work on display includes portions of their research, prompts, and visual exercises, as well as the zines themselves. Following this exhibition at Essex Art Center, the work will be on display at Lawrence History Center. The public is invited to take home copies of the zines.

This program is funded in part by a grant from Mass Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.