On Jan. 19, Winnipeg’s ArtsJunktion celebrated its grand reopening. The non-profit organization’s mission is to redistribute reusable art supplies and other materials, with a “take what you need, pay what you can” policy.

According to board chair, Hafiz Jatto, ArtsJunktion was founded in the late 2000s by a group of art teachers, who noticed that many art supplies went to waste at the end of each school year.

“They thought to start a depot, a repository where teachers can go access creative materials on a ‘pay-what-you-can’ basis, using the power of […] mutual aid and communal mindset to ensure that folks are pulling the resources they have to provide them to folks with limited access,” Jatto said.

The initial focus was for teachers in more affluent neighbourhoods to donate unused supplies to those working in areas with fewer financial resources for art supplies.

ArtsJunktion had been closed since March 2024, after a fire broke out at an adjacent building and destroyed it. Smoke from the fire and water used to extinguish it caused damage to ArtsJunktion’s basement, forcing the organization to temporarily close.

Jatto expressed gratitude for the landlords and others who supported them during the challenging situation. “They really have been accommodating and tried, so I think that definitely helped, because right away when it happened, we didn’t have a lot of information. We’re flooded, we can’t safely go into a space where there’s two metres of water in the basement,” he said. “It was really a bunch of waiting and just seeing what we could do by operating externally.”

Initially, Jatto said they expected the closure to last only three months. However, the timeline was extended due to the need to pump water out of the basement and repair the damaged wall shared with the adjacent building. During this time, ArtsJunktion collaborated with the community to continue operations.

“It was hard for us not being able to do the core things we do, which is accepting donations, reducing material going to the landfill,” he said. “But besides that, we were still operating, we were still meeting as a board and we were still able to provide programming.”

Similar to their activities during the COVID-19 lockdown, ArtsJunktion provided take-home crafting kits and virtual craft sessions on Zoom to stay connected with the community during the closure.

The re-opening party was organized by volunteers and staff, Jatto said. It celebrated ArtsJunktion’s resilience, provided a safe space for people to connect with like-minded individuals, and reaffirmed the organization’s presence in Winnipeg.

Now that ArtsJunktion is open again, Jatto and the board have established strategic goals to strengthen the organization’s future. Some goals include working more closely with Indigenous organizations, accepting more donations and reducing waste sent to the landfill. While ArtsJunktion plans on building a more stable organizational structure, it remains committed to being community-driven and accessible to those who need its services most.

“At the core we still try to tune our services and make sure that we are barrier-free for the people who face more barriers in society,” said Jatto.

To learn more about ArtsJunktion, visit artsjunktion.mb.ca.