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A Winnipeg arts non-profit is offering support to a similar organization in Minneapolis in the form of drawings, paintings and virtual artworks.
“Manitoba and Minnesota have a lot of shared values, and we don’t like what we’re seeing happen down there, and we wanted to use art to do something about it,” Art City Inc. artistic director Eddie Ayoub told Global News.
Art City is hosting “Mail it to Minneapolis,” an art workshop open to the community. Ayoub says the focus will be on “two-dimensional” art, which will then be sent to Articulture, a non-profit offering programming to vulnerable populations in the Twin Cities.
“We came up with the idea to do something, to use art to reach out and… offer some small comfort to the people in Minneapolis,” Ayoub said.
He emailed Articulture, and says a response was received within the hour.
“I was, like, bowled over. I was so excited,” said Articulture executive director Elizabeth Greenbaum. “I’m typing emails to the board members and my staff… ‘Look at this! This is awesome!’”
Art City and Articulture had never heard of each other prior to Ayoub reaching out, but Greenbaum says the two organizations coming together is “a perfect fit.”
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Since Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began major operations in Minneapolis, two people have been shot and killed by ICE agents in the city and many more have been arrested, sparking massive protests across the U.S. and abroad.
“It’s not life as usual,” said Greenbaum. “It’s a constant battle of hypervigilance.”
Art City’s works will be mailed to Articulture, where Greenbaum says they’ll be displayed and then auctioned off, with proceeds going toward rent and essentials for residents affected by ICE arrests.
“People are forced to stay home, don’t have jobs, [some] people that have been abducted are the breadwinners, so people are stuck without having income,” she said. “We’re going to do anything we can to financially support that through what they’re [Art City] doing from Winnipeg.”
“For us, it’s sort of a pressure valve for wanting to contribute something meaningful to the situation,” said Ayoub, “and then for the recipients, it’s being seen and being recognized and knowing that people even far away up here in Canada are doing an act of solidarity.”
Mail it to Minneapolis takes place tonight at Art City Inc. at 616 Broadway Ave. from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is open to all.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
