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InfoShop Summer of Activism!OPIRG staff and volunteers are spending their summer getting the downtown InfoShop in shape for community use! We have just started organizing a series of committees to look after different aspects of the Infoshop and we need you to lend your creativity! So what is an Infoshop?An Infoshop is a volunteer-run and self-managed community and social center for action-oriented activities, including a computer center, meeting space, a library with radical literature, a shop with books, zines, patches, and more. An Infoshop is a free space where people are invited to hang out, talk, meet, play and organize. Everyone is welcome! The CommitteesThe following is a list of the committee we having running right now, if you are interested in joining one..two..or all of them just send us an email at opirgbu@gmail.com and let us know what peaked your interest!If you're interested in something entirely different then what we have right now send us an email and let us know-we'll help you get started! SWAP IT Center
The idea of the SWAP IT Center is to connect folk that are looking to trade stuff, skills, rides and many other swappables!We have a SWAP IT board in the Infoshop where you can put what you need, what you have, and where you can donate what you no longer need. Next Meeting; Tuesday May 18th @ 12 in the InfoShop Zine LibraryMiss the days of white glue and cut and paste??
We do too! To deal with our nostalgia for cut and paste days we are putting together a zine making committee who will work towards producing zines for the InfoShop zine library! Zines are self-made, independently published booklets made by cutting and pasting text and images! They can be about anything and are a great way to share information! Bike RepairThe very exciting Bike Repair committee will be focused on a few things this summer and many other things that we will figure out with your help!
So far we’d like to build a bike tool storage space in the InfoShop that can be accessible to anyone needing to fix their bikes. Going along with this logic, we plan on holding a number of “ Know Your Bike” workshops that will take folks on a guided tour of their bikes, getting to know the parts, the tools and of course how to fix any bike related problems! Fundraising will also be a part of this committee; we need mulla to buy bike tools! There have been whispers of putting together a “wine route bike tour” as a fundraisers! Fundraising/Commercial
This committee will be working on different fund-raising strategies to raise income for the Shop. Activist Art Zone
This committee will also be putting on activist art workshops to share their crafty skills! Rotating GalleryThis is a gallery for us all; if you have drawings, photographs, paintings, and in general art as you define it this is a space available to you. This will be a great way to cover up our currently white walls with lots of rad local art!We will collectively decide how often to meet, how to run our meetings and of course what art we will feature in the Infoshop! If you want to connect with local artists, like art, do art yourself, or want to help with organizing and helping this project start , the Rotating Gallery is the committee for you! FreeSkoolFreeskool is a space where people can come together across communities and share in learning. The summer term of FreeSkool is beginning in June and we are looking for eager facilitators! Anyone can facilitate a class on any topic whether they have skills or want to meet with people that have skills! Send an email to us to propose your idea. Looking forward to some summer learning in the sun! for more information about courses being run, check out opirgbrock.org/freeskool
BIKES ! BIKES! BIKES!Do you have an old bike lying around your garage/shed/basement/apartment? We can find a new home for it!
Working with the Migrant Workers Support Center in Virgil, we are running a Bike Collection for the next two months! We will take care of fixing up the bikes and making them road safe, all you have to do is bring them to our downtown InfoShop! If you have any questions or would like to make a donation email Milica at opirgbu@gmail.com You can also bring your old bike to our downtown InfoShop:
Volunteer Appreciation - FREE BOWLINGIt's that time of the year again. It's OPIRG VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION time! and this year it will be celebrated with FREE BOWLING!!!! OPIRG is a volunteer run not-for-profit. We only exist because of all the time and work that are wonderful, hardworking, creative volunteers give to us. It's time to say THANKS!!! Please join us at the merritton community centre, 4 park avenue, this wednesday march 31st from 7-10pm for snacks and an activist bowling tournament. We will also be giving out awards to three folks: outstanding community, undergraduate and graduate volunteer - IT COULD BE YOU! so you'd better show up! also - we will be carpooling folks from campus and downtown. Please let me know if you have a car, or need a ride - opirgbu@gmail.com
SEX WORK: Canadian Legal Challengessex work are a form of gender based discrimination. Do Canada's laws make sex workers' lives more dangerous?
Valerie Scott - Plaintiff in the current constitutional challenge
International Womens Day Art Contest2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre when a gunman shot and killed 14 women, and injured a further 13 people at L'École Polytechnique de Montréal. In recognition of this event OPIRG is joining with the Center for Women’s Studies to sponsor an Art Contest which highlights women’s and men’s resistance to gender based violence.
About the ContestYour work could be selected to be part of an art event that will engage the community in dialogue on violence against women. Entries will be displayed on March 8 on International Women’s Day, and during the Social Justice and Equity Studies Forum on March 20th 2010. Contest GuidelinesThemesOne in three women worldwide experiences violence in their lifetime, making violence against women one of the gravest human rights violations of our time. Submission Topics: This contest aims to showcase and educate people on the multiple forms of violence against women. We hope to raise thought-provoking questions about the roots and means of perpetuation of violence, as well as possible solutions. We seek to show stories of struggle and also stories of empowerment and victory. Forms of violence that artworks might reflect upon include: •Violence on university campus Additional themes might include: Stories of victories might include: FeeThere is no fee to enter. Entry1.One entry per person Timeline1.Entries must be received by February 22nd 2010. JudgingJudges will select two winners. One winner will be selected from each category: (a) Inspiration, (b) Incisive Social Commentary. Judging will be made based on subject, creativity, and composition. The decision of the judges is final.Judges will be made up of members of OPIRG, the Centre for Women Studies, and the Department of Visual Arts. PrizeThe selected winners will each receive a $ 100 honorarium generously donated from the Center for Women’s Studies and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group. For more information about this contest email opirgbu@brocku.ca
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An exciting project that encourages communication and connection in our community!
We are so excited to finally have a physical space in downtown St Catharines so it goes without saying that we are keen to keep it downtown for as long as we can. In order to keep the Shop running it needs to become financially sustainable.
Patches-T-Shirts-Murals and oh so much more! So far, the Art Center has a screen-printing station, a button making station, a ton of art supplies, and room for anything else we can imagine! Projects we have in mind include making custom t-shirts using different patches and silk screened images/text, tote bags, and murals to decorate our white walls!
We all know things and have stories or skills to share, and Freeskool works to provide an egalitarian, radically inclusive, anti-oppressive setting for that sharing to take place.
