The art of sustainability

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/08/2020 (2114 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As someone who makes his living as a visual artist, Cory Derksen has benefited greatly from ArtsJunktion.

The charitable arts organization, located on William Avenue, repurposes waste materials that would normally go into the landfill and makes them available to artists on a pay-what-you-can basis.

“It’s made my life a lot better,” Derksen says. “It’s hard to make a living as an artist, and to donate some money and get access to great supplies is amazing. It helps out a lot.”

Derksen started volunteering at ArtsJunktion shortly after his first visit five years ago, and has found a lot more than just supplies for his art practice.

“I like the fact that ArtsJunktion is a community for everybody — all walks of life,” he says. “Everyone is very accepting and very welcoming. It feels like a second family.”

Stories like Derksen’s are exciting to hear for Lou Gandier and Helga Jakobson, the co-executive directors at ArtsJunktion.

An artist herself, Jakobson started working at the organization a year-and-a-half ago.

“I love it so much because my own way of living in the world is focused on community, art and the environment, which are the three staples at ArtsJunktion,” she says.

Although Gandier doesn’t consider themselves a visual artist, Gandier was drawn to working at ArtsJunktion three-and-a-half years ago because its emphasis on building community and helping the environment resonate with their personal values.

“ArtsJunktion is such a dynamic place for people to come, get materials and be creative,” Gandier says.

That’s what three school teachers envisioned when they founded ArtsJunktion in 2007.

One of those teachers, Andrea Bell Stuart, was teaching early years in the Seven Oaks School Division and relying partially on reusable materials that were donated to her school to use for art projects with students.

Bell Stuart was disappointed to see schools throwing out any leftover reusable materials at the end of each school year.

She got the idea for ArtsJunktion after hearing about a similar repurposing centre in Toronto that her sister-in-law frequented.

Sustainability has been a part of ArtsJunktion’s mandate from the beginning, Bell Stuart says.

“We saw the waste that was happening at schools and I wouldn’t call it a problem, but we just thought there was a better way of doing things,” she says.

The organization stored donated materials in garages and vans for the first year or two, offering them to teachers for free.

In 2008, the organization moved into its current location in the heart of the Exchange District.

Today, ArtsJunktion serves a wide variety of people including crafters and community organizations. All supplies are available on a take-what-you-want, pay-what-you-can basis.

In addition to offering art materials, ArtsJunktion offers a variety of workshops and events where anyone who is interested can learn, make and explore creative reuse and sustainable art practices.

ArtsJunktion has had to close the doors to its physical space to the public as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped Gandier and Jakobson from finding new and creative ways to engage the community.

When the pandemic first hit, the duo quickly got to work assembling and delivering art kits to inner-city families and various community organizations so folks could have art projects to do at home.

To date, they have distributed 3,000 kits.

Gandier, Jakobson and the five students who are working with them during the summer have also been tending to ArtsJunktion’s community garden, organizing “crafternoons” — free events where the public is welcome to make art in the organization’s courtyard — and holding yard sales where people can continue to pick up the art supplies they need.

ArtsJunktion is taking donations by appointment, and staff are in the midst of setting up an online store where people can purchase materials.

“It’s been nice to be able to still support the community, even though (our doors) are closed,” Gandier says.

Jakobson agrees.

“I think the pandemic allowed us a moment to pause and reflect on our vision statement, and reimagine how we function,” she says. “Of course, (the pandemic is) alarming and all those things as well, but I feel we’ve just been doing good work and supporting our community regardless.”

Gandier and Jakobson are always looking for more people to get involved, whether it’s folks who want to donate reusable materials or folks who want to find supplies for their artmaking or attend an event.

Anyone interested can visit artsjunktion.mb.ca for details.

“We’re always down to collaborate,” Gandier says.

“We’re going to keep imagining new ways to create more and more access to our space and our materials,” Jakobson adds.

aaron.epp@gmail.com