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This article explores curatorial projects that give voice to working-class communities that have been disfranchised by the ideology of neo-liberalism. Defining contemporary art galleries as public spheres, curatorial projects that are based in dialogue and dialogics reveal the conflicting and contradictory aspects of dominant cultural narratives. Through collaborative and participatory methods, progressive artists co-create artworks with working-class communities, creating alternatives to the traditional gallery system in which artists, artworks, audiences and institutions are abstracted from the world around them. With a focus on the work of artists Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge, and their collaborations with individuals representing various communities – labour organizations, activist groups, cultural groups and the art world – insurgent curating is defined in terms of dialogue-based activism. Dialogue-based projects are championed as ways to catalyse emancipatory insights and the critique of neo-liberal capitalism.