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ArtsJunktion: Help recycle junk and turn it into art

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It’s hard not to resist a community-focused, sustainability-oriented non-profit organization that creates beautiful artwork from recyclable material. And ArtsJunktion is exactly that: committed to redistributing reusable materials, the organization’s mandate includes providing workshop and gallery space for artists, supporting artists with employment opportunities, reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, raising awareness about environmental issues in the community and much more. How can anyone not love an organization built on such a positive foundation?

ArtsJunktion takes a very holistic approach to artwork and sustainability by building community and connecting people with one another. In this way, a variety of people can benefit from their work, including artists, educators, students, community members and businesses. And you can get involved, too! Even if you aren’t an artist, you can still do your part for the non-profit by donating old materials that you would otherwise have tossed into the garbage. For information on exactly what ArtsJunktion will and will not accept, check out the Material Donations Guidelines on their website – just remember to clean and organize the materials before dropping them off.

Acceptable reusable material donations at ArtsJunktion can be anything from paper supplies (such as lined paper, calendars or maps) to wood (such as boxes, poles or posts) to fabric (such as fur, lace or buttons) to metal (such as wire, cookie cutters or film reels) and more. Throwing old “stuff” and “things” into the garbage isn’t nearly as much fun as giving it to an artist to transform into something wonderful! And who knows – it might just inspire you to get a little creative with the junk you find lying around your own home.

ArtsJunktion is a treasure mine in the heart of downtown Winnipeg 

Located at 312 B William Avenue (just a couple blocks away from Main Street), ArtsJunktion is open every afternoon in the winter months, from Monday through Saturday. The organization generally conducts workshops a few times each month for anywhere between $5 and $25, which have in the past featured information sessions on a unique assortment of topics including creating journals, designing fabric landscapes and making bike art. These fun and quirky workshops are great opportunities for an aspiring artist to learn new ways to apply their skills.

Anyone interested in art and reusable materials is welcome to join ArtsJunktion as a member, completely free of charge.

If you are living in downtown Winnipeg yourself, this is a great chance to get to know some of the other members of the community, help an artist out, or get inspired to create your own artwork! Strong communities can be built through art. Even if you aren’t a resident of the downtown area, it’s worth attending a workshop or dropping by to donate your old materials. Check out www.artsjunktion.mb.ca for more information about ArtsJunktion.

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Sagan Morrow is a freelance writer and editor with a B.A. in Rhetoric, Writing and Communications from the University of Winnipeg. Specializing in health and wellness, she writes the blog Living Healthy in the Real World and is the health columnist for the newspaper The Uniter.  Learn more about her by checking out her website at www.livingintherealworld.net or e-mail her at sagan.morrow@gmail.com.

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