'Take what you need': Local arts organization moving to new space to help people access supplies

A community arts organization in Downtown Winnipeg is on the move.

ArtsJunktion closed the doors at its William Avenue location in March after operating out of the space for the past decade. The not-for-profit is in the process of moving into a new, yet-to-be-revealed location.

“Unlike most moves, where you would purge, we are trying to divert waste from the landfill,” Helga Jakobson, ArtsJunktion’s programming director, explained. “We didn’t want anything from our depot to make its way to the landfill, so we brought every single thing with us.”

Jakobson describes ArtsJunktion as a ‘creative reuse depot.’ The group collects art and craft materials – ranging from scraps of fabric to stacks of old magazines – and makes them available to community members.

“We’re lowering the barriers to accessible art and craft materials,” Jakobson said. “Take what you need, pay what you can.”

She said the organization serves about 14,000 people annually, and the need for services like ArtsJunktion has grown over the past few years.

“We all know, especially after the pandemic, how critically important it is to have access to creativity,” Jakobson said. “To be able to provide materials for exploration, for inspiration, and to keep people utilizing materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.”

The new location will include a shopping area, a studio/workshop, as well as a lending library stocked with tools and equipment community members can borrow.

“We’re really excited because it is seven times larger than our last space,” Jakobson said. “That means we can run larger amounts of programming.”

Jakobson said relocating to a new space has been challenging – not only due to the sheer amount of materials and supplies, but also because ArtsJunktion doesn’t receive any operational funding. The organization has put out a call for donations to help launch the new space and build for a more sustainable future.

“We want to make sure we’re providing the best service that we can to our community members.”

She said ArtsJunktion will start accepting material donations in the coming weeks, and hopes to open to the public soon after.

More information on ArtsJunktion is available on their website.