Latest news with #MillenniumLibrary
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Millennium Library safety incidents spike in first quarter of 2025
The number of concerning incidents at Winnipeg's downtown Millennium Library increased sharply in the first few months of this year. From January to March, there were 309 incidents, compared with 183 during the same period the year before, a 68.9 per cent increase, according to a report to be discussed at the community services committee meeting on June 13. That increase occurred despite a 7.5 per cent drop in attendance, which the report attributes to City of Winnipeg's decision to cut opening times on Sundays and Monday evenings and to close Community Connections, the service hub which had operated in the library since 2022. Across the entire library system, there were 498 safety issues, compared with 361 last year, an increase of 38 per cent, while attendance rose marginally by 0.9 per cent. Funding for the Community Connections space, which provided low-barrier information services and crisis intervention inside the lobby of the Millennium Library, ended after Dec. 31, 2024. The space had library staff, community safety hosts and crisis workers who could help de-escalate people and refer them to outside agencies and resources. Kirsten Wurmann, a librarian and program co-ordinator with the Manitoba Library Association, isn't surprised to see the increased number of safety incidents. "This coincides exactly with the closure of Community Connections," she said. "I said this in my last delegation to members of council back in January, and not just me, but many, many other people said that staffing is really important to make a safer space in which to work and to visit." About half of the incidents at Millennium Library from January to March this year related to inappropriate behaviour, with 156 incidents, a 110 per cent increase from the year before. There were 32 incidents involving intoxication, 433 per cent higher than last year. Since the closure of Community Connnections, the number of referrals to outside agencies has plummeted. Workers in the space made 5,886 referrals from January to March last year. Since the closure, library staff at all other service desks in the library began tracking the same referral data, recording a total of 812 this year. "This decrease … implies that, since the closure of Community Connections, people may not be entering the library, past the metal detector gates, for their information requests," the report states. Despite that decrease, the workload of library staff at the service desks has increased substantially. "When Community Connections closed, we knew that incidents were going to increase, because now there's nobody serving the community," said Mary Burton, executive director of Zoongizi Ode Inc., a non-profit which trains community safety hosts to work inside the library. After closing Community Connections, the Downtown Community Safety Partnership announced plans to set up an office in the space. But Burton said that office is not open as much as Community Connections was, and doesn't offer the same services. Referrals made by community crisis workers in Millennium Library rose 245 per cent in the three-month period, according to the report. "That is because there is nobody at the front line being the go-between between the community and the crisis workers," Burton said. Mayor Scott Gillingham and other council members have said the front lobby of the library was not the appropriate space for the Community Connections hub, and argued the provincial government should help fund it, since it mostly referred people to provincial services.
CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Assault, harassment incidents skyrocket at Millennium Library: report
Incidents at Millennium Library were up nearly 70 per cent in the first months of 2025, with massive spikes reported in assaults, harassment and vandalism. The data comes in an administrative report before the city's standing policy committee on community services, outlining attendance and incidents across all Winnipeg Public Library branches. According to the report, there were 309 incidents logged at the Millennium Library between January and March 2025, compared to 183 during the same time period in 2024. That represents a 68 per cent jump. 'Safety and security incidents continue to be a concern in library branches throughout the city,' the report said. 'The findings indicate a continuation of incidents and de-escalations with library services.' Breaking down the incidents by type, there were 11 assaults reported in the first quarter of 2025—up 57 per cent from 2024. Similarly, harassment was up 71 per cent from last year, with 12 incidents reported. Intoxication incidents also rose 433 per cent, from six in the first quarter of 2024 to 32 this year. Incidents also trended upwards across all Winnipeg Public Library branches, though not as drastically. Overall, branch-wide incidents were up 38 per cent from 2024, with assault, harassment, inappropriate behaviour, and hazardous conditions ballooning by at least 100 per cent in each category compared to last year. The spikes come amid a fall in attendance at Millennium Library, which was down seven per cent, while visitors across all branches rose marginally by under one per cent. The city service began submitting these quarterly library attendance and incident reports in response to a 2022 homicide at the Millennium Library. The incident prompted updated safety measures across all branches, including additional security guards, community safety hosts, and a resources hub. The reports are meant to monitor the additional safety measures and their impact. The latest report will be considered at a June 13 committee meeting. It can be read in full on the city's website.
Winnipeg Free Press
02-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Local artist explores concrete as a medium
Spatula in one hand, the other firmly gripping a silver mixing bowl, Kevin Batenchuk looks like he's about to make a cake. A cloud of fine dust rises as he stirs and folds, amalgamating the ingredients in his very own recipe for success, tweaked and honed to perfection after years of experimentation. But Batenchuk is no baker and the concrete batter he's mixing — an unappealing sludge of grey made from crushed stone, sand, cement and water, bound together with acrylic or latex admixture — is hardly fit for consumption. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Artist Kevin Batenchuk pours a concrete minimalist vase. Working from his bright and airy workshop/gallery, Kev Ten Studio on McDermot Avenue, the artist makes 'useful art objects and fun things to play with' from the material more commonly found in the foundations of buildings. 'Art is useful on its own, but I have a strange compulsion I can't get over; I have to make useful things. Most of what I make right now has a usability component to it,' says Batenchuk, 54. His lifelong fascination with architecture and brutalism, the architectural style defined by its use of raw concrete, unembellished geometric forms and muted colour schemes, informs many of his works, which can be seen at 'Notre-Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier, a giant of intellectual architecture, is by far the most important building to me and my design sensibilities. It's a building I absolutely must see in person. There are echoes of it in my work,' he says. He is also a great admirer of Japan's Tadao Ando, most famous for his minimalist approach, and Vancouver-born architect and urban planner Arthur Erickson, often referred to as the 'concrete poet.' Closer to home, Batenchuk is fond of the Millennium Library, which has had a number of architects working on it during its 50-year tenure. His artistic influences include English sculptor and artist Henry Moore, Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali and Winnipeg's Bruce Head, whose public art piece The Wall, a 127-metre-long concrete sculpture, is the longest in situ artwork in Canada. The piece, on display since 1979, may become inaccessible if the underground concourse is closed following the reopening of the intersection of Portage and Main to pedestrians. 'The Wall in the Portage and Main concourse is one of my all-time favourite sculptures anywhere. If the artwork is not to be saved, I might be chaining myself to it sometime in the near future,' he says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Batenchuk pours the cement into moulds that he makes himself out of foam yoga blocks or Styrofoam bought from Dollarama and cut out using a bandsaw. Batenchuk's experiments in concrete began accidentally. As child he had always shown a talent for drawing, practising his skill by copying pictures before stamping his own style on them. But art wasn't something he pursued intentionally. The born and bred Winnipegger spent most of his adult life in British Columbia, moving to Vancouver in 1990. He lived in a number of cities in the province, including Whistler, Tofino and Victoria. Back then, wood was his medium of choice and Batenchuk made himself a skateboard. 'I never went to art school, but I have always been curious about how things are made and whenever there's an opportunity to make something, I make it. It's innate,' he says. 'I've always had an idea I was going to be self-employed at some point and was always thinking about how I could turn what I made into a business.' He started his own company, Farm Skateboards, painting or silkscreening the bottoms of each board, but soon realized it was a tough market to break into. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Batenchuk's creations come in all sizes. Bartending stints followed and when he wasn't doing that, he would take on jobs in the construction industry where he discovered the countless possibilities of concrete. But it wasn't until Batenchuk's return to Winnipeg that he begun to experiment with the material. The COVID-19 pandemic had limited his movements, and the artist, who was renting a small, shared studio where he made paper collages, decided he'd had enough. 'I got bored with it one day so I went to Home Depot and bought a bag of cement. I don't even know why I bought it; I had no plan. I just bought it and started to make something,' he says. The something he made turned out to an abstract sculpture of an arm with a portal through it, reaching out towards the sky. 'I described it as a window of hope through the hard realities of life,' he explains. 'It also has two wooden crutches in it. I was reading a lot about Salvador Dali and Henry Moore at the time, as I recall.' There aren't many people who, when first trying out a new medium, are immediately successful, but don't tell Batenchuk that. His first piece was captivating enough to draw the attention of an interior designer who asked to buy it. 'I said, 'I won't sell you this one — the piece had rough spots in it — but I will make the exact same thing.' So I made her another one and she was very happy with it and things started move forward from there,' he says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Prototype Martian Library 2.0 Move forward it has. Five years later and the artist, now installed in his south-facing studio on the sixth floor of 290 McDermot Ave. is still at it with the concrete, standing at his own-made workbench, pouring his bespoke cement into moulds that, naturally, he's also made himself. 'I came up with the idea to have a library of the hundreds of shapes I've used in my art since forever. I trace the shapes onto foam yoga blocks or Styrofoam — which I buy from Dollarama — and I cut them out using my bandsaw,' he says. He first sands the forms to achieve varying textures before screwing them down onto plywood or Masonite plates. After the cement mix is poured, the entire thing is covered with plastic to start the curing process. It's a waiting game — only after a long stretch of time can the concrete be considered strong and fully cured — although Batenchuk says that a day is sometimes enough. 'Concrete continues to cure for 28 to 30 days but after 24 hours it is already at 50 to 60 per cent of its final cured strength. That's when I take all the screws out, de-mould the shapes and place them in water, to make the next step easier.' The next step is the most labour-intensive part of the process. With a handheld angle grinder, fitted with diamond polishing pads to alter the rough and pitted surfaces, Batenchuk polishes and grinds, although not every piece gets the same treatment, in order to retain varying textures. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Artist Kevin Batenchuk's concrete creations in his Exchange District studio. The resulting pieces of hardened concrete have a raw, tactile appeal. The sculptural blocks, featuring modular pieces in varying shapes and sizes, are an invitation to play. 'The thinking behind it was to make something interactive that, once it's yours, you can do whatever you want with it. Concrete isn't the first thing people would think you can play with but you can,' he says. All his life, Batenchuk has just wanted to make things. He was diagnosed with severe ADHD three years ago and used to find it difficult to finish multiple projects he would have on the go. 'That saying 'Inspiration usually finds you working' absolutely applies for me. When I am working on something is when ideas start happening,' he says with a laugh. He's decided that to move forward in his art career, he has to streamline his life, and his projects, so he has established a routine he sticks to at least five days a week. The early riser aims to be up by 4 a.m. 'I wake up, pray, stretch and meditate. Then I read small passages from three different books before I expand on the plan for today that I wrote out the night before. Then I go to the gym. Exercise is a very important part of my life,' he says. He starts work in the studio after that, concentrating on the projects he has planned out for the year. Batenchuk's journey continues to unfold in ways he never imagined. Working with the solidity of concrete has rooted him, in more ways than one. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Artist Kevin Batenchuk's concrete creations in his Exchange District studio. And now he is exactly where he'd dreamed of being for so long. 'I am living the life of an artist. It's what I felt I have always been and now it's real. Things have transpired to keep me on this path. I just make, create and leave the results to the universe. 'Really, I just want to make something and make it well.' Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. AV KitchingReporter AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV. Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Knitted exhibition tells yarns from D-Day
An 80m-long (262ft) display made by knitters across the world recreating the scenes of D-Day has gone on display in Peterborough. The Longest Yarn was created with the help of about 180 crafters across the world, to recreate 80 scenes from the 1944 landings of allied troops in Normandy, France in World War Two. The exhibition is being held at Peterborough Cathedral from Tuesday until 1 April and will be the last time it goes on display in the United Kingdom. "The Longest Yarn is a moving tribute to the courage of those who served in the D-Day landings," a spokesperson for the cathedral said. "This knitted and crocheted installation captures the significance of that day, offering a respectful space for reflection. "It serves as a reminder of the bravery and sacrifice that shaped the course of history as well as a chance to remember those currently serving in our military." The exhibition has previously been on display in France before touring Britain. On social media, The Longest Yarn team said it would be the last display in the UK before it is taken on tour in the United States, after which it would return to its permanent home in northern France. In February, it was due to appear at the American Library based in the Millennium Library in Norwich, however, the event was cancelled due to safety concerns and a lack of space. At the time, Norfolk County Council said: "As potential visitor numbers began to grow, concerns emerged about the ability to host such an important exhibition in a relatively small space in a way that it could be fully and safely enjoyed by those wishing to view it." Entrance to the exhibition at Peterborough Cathedral is free but those behind the event "would be very grateful" for a suggested donation of £2.50 per person to go towards the upkeep of the venue. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Knitted D-Day display cancelled over safety fears Army of knitted soldiers raise awareness for D-Day Cartoonist's 'mission' to get more men knitting Queen of knitting's glorious treasures rehomed Globe attracted 'thousands' to cathedral Giant scale model moon hangs in cathedral The Longest Yarn Peterborough Cathedral
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Knitted D-Day scenes go on display in Peterborough Cathedral
An 80m-long (262ft) display made by knitters across the world recreating the scenes of D-Day has gone on display in Longest Yarn was created with the help of about 180 crafters across the world, to recreate 80 scenes from the 1944 landings of allied troops in Normandy, France in World War Two. The exhibition is being held at Peterborough Cathedral from Tuesday until 1 April and will be the last time it goes on display in the United Kingdom. "The Longest Yarn is a moving tribute to the courage of those who served in the D-Day landings," a spokesperson for the cathedral said. "This knitted and crocheted installation captures the significance of that day, offering a respectful space for reflection. "It serves as a reminder of the bravery and sacrifice that shaped the course of history as well as a chance to remember those currently serving in our military." The exhibition has previously been on display in France before touring social media, The Longest Yarn team said it would be the last display in the UK before it is taken on tour in the United States, after which it would return to its permanent home in northern France. In February, it was due to appear at the American Library based in the Millennium Library in Norwich, however, the event was cancelled due to safety concerns and a lack of space. At the time, Norfolk County Council said: "As potential visitor numbers began to grow, concerns emerged about the ability to host such an important exhibition in a relatively small space in a way that it could be fully and safely enjoyed by those wishing to view it."Entrance to the exhibition at Peterborough Cathedral is free but those behind the event "would be very grateful" for a suggested donation of £2.50 per person to go towards the upkeep of the venue. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
