A new event space has opened its doors to artisans in Timmins.
The Mennonite Central Committee Timmins (MCC) staff has been hard at work renovating the space at 233 Pine St. S. It is now ready to welcome those who need room for meetings, workshops, or other events.
The original idea started as a space for artists involved in the Niska artisans program to share their work and their skills.
“We’re really excited to be able to host other organizations in this space, whether for meetings or other small events,”said MCC Indigenous Neighbours Program associate Clara Wheaton. “But we’ve also heard from several artists that one of the things that’s difficult to find is a space for workshops or gatherings that doesn’t cost a lot of money and is available to them.”
Both the room in the building and the outdoor space behind it are available to rent.
The meeting room offers a small kitchen space, bright colours, and a vibrant mural painted by local artists, John and Emily Hetherington.
“This isn’t here just for MCC to use, it’s here for the community,” said Wheaton. “We have this mural and there’s talks about doing another one at some point.”
The outdoor space has seating under a large tree, there are raspberry and blueberry bushes, and plans to expand the garden.
“There really wasn’t much back there when I started,” said MCC Indigenous Neighbours Program associate Shealyn Clausen “We’ve got lots of different flowers, and we’re just waiting on our fire pit. It came together very nicely, and it was a process that took us the whole year to get it ready.”
The garden, called Kiskisiwin, which translates to ‘remembrance’ in Cree, is meant as a place for reflection. The project was started by a former staff member as a space of growth.
“Her hope was for it to be a space for people to remember the impact and reality of residential schools but also to look at what comes next and make it a space that could be full of laughter and hope for the future,” said Wheaton.
The MCC purchased the building in 2020 and work on converting the space for multiple uses began shortly after.
The space could also serve as a gathering place for the MCC in the future.
“We’ve talked about hosting drop-ins and that sort of stuff for ourselves as well, so there’s a potential to do that again,” said Wheaton.
Those interested in using the space can contact the MCC at (705) 264-2494.
“We’re looking forward to, in the next little bit, potentially people using the space for some artists gatherings and beading workshops, but we don’t have anything set in stone yet,” said Wheaton.
