Art Gallery of Hamilton exhibit highlights city’s industrial history through family collection

The Art Gallery of Hamilton is hosting an exhibit called “Made in Hamilton,” which features around 400 artifacts tied to sectors like steel, automotive, hardware and other industries.

Glen Faulman comes from a lineage of Stelco steel workers and says given the current industrial climate, it is a great time to memorialize Hamilton’s booming economy over the last 100 years.

Three generations of Faulman’s family can be seen at Hamilton’s art exhibit, each proudly showing their identification cards when employed at Stelco.

“Here’s my dad’s ID card — he worked from ‘64 to ‘02,” said Faulman. “There’s my grandfather’s ID card — he was there from ‘34 to ‘70.”

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The 27-year veteran said he wanted to follow in his family’s footsteps since he was three.

“I do tell people the steel company could close tomorrow and I wouldn’t regret working there, because I’ve seen many Hamiltonians or even Canadians have never seen,” said Faulman.

Faulman’s extensive experience in caster, galvanizing and blast furnaces marks his contribution to Hamilton’s industrial history, but the Stelco worker has a passion for the city’s manufacturing achievements.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton is hosting Faulman’s collection in the “Made in Hamilton” exhibit, which showcases roughly 400 artifacts and antiques that he has collected for more than two decades.

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“In the 1920s, we had about 700 factories, coexisting at the same time in the city and I think that needs to be memorialized somehow,” said Faulman. “There are stories behind these jobs that don’t exist anymore, behind these products that I look for and that’s the city’s story as far as I’m concerned.”

Industries and products are on display, including automotive items like a 1951 Studebaker Champion, early 20th century appliances, hardware manufactured pharmaceuticals, and more.
“I can’t think of a better ‘meditative space’ than this exhibition right now, to really reflect on who we were, who we are, what we could be, what’s possible,” said Tor Lukasik-Foss, the exhibit’s curator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Lukasik-Foss acknowledges the timing of the exhibition, as Hamilton and the rest of Canada continues to pivot during a trade war with the Trump administration.

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He said he was inspired by Faulman’s collection and Hamilton’s past of industrial expos, which would attract tens of thousands of people in the early 20th century.

“We’re in this era of what it means to be Canadian and to ‘Make Canadian’ — this paints a picture of what that looked like,” said Lukasik-Foss.

Despite losing some hours inside Stelco’s complex, Faulman believes Canada’s steel industry can overcome trade challenges.

“We have pivoted to Canadian-only customers, so we can ship east-west, instead of north-south,” said Faulman. “Maybe it just takes a little bit longer to get there.”

Faulman’s collection has been featured at the Art Gallery of Hamilton since June 26, with roughly 25,000 people having gone to see it.

Faulman and Lukasik-Foss will be hosting a talk series on Sept. 24, and the exhibit will run until Jan. 3, 2027.