Art for Change celebrates local artists and the community of Regina
What’s better than witnessing art in person? How about witnessing art that serves the purpose of bettering the community? Art For Change (AFC), as a non-profit organization that is on a mission to feature local artists while supporting social causes inside and outside Regina, does just that. Founder and Executive Director Amber Fink, a University of Regina (U of R) student, spoke with the Carillon about the success of their events and the warmth that they have received from Regina’s residents since they started their work.
The genesis and the idea behind
While their first event was officially hosted in 2022, the idea was born when Fink was around 12 years old. “I’ve always been immersed in the live music scene and thought it would be so cool if I could combine my love for activism, music, and art,” she reminisced. Over the course of 2024 and 2025, AFC has fundraised for women’s shelters, aid to Gaza, and, most recently, local community fridges.
During Women’s history month in 2025, a fundraiser was organized by AFC to support YWCA’s My Aunt’s Place, an emergency shelter for single women and families experiencing homelessness. Fink proudly spoke about the show that night, which was all female-fronted, during which they raised $2,285.
“The Regina music scene [can be] pretty male-dominated. I wanted to highlight women in music [and] in our city that are doing some really awesome work,” said Fink. It must be said that the artists featured at AFC shows are volunteering their time to perform for these great causes. “That’s a huge commitment to volunteer to play a show. They have all brought so much value to everything that we do,”praised Fink. A heartwarming memory for Fink was seeing a 15 year old musician come out to play for the Women’s history month fundraiser. “I just think it’s so cool when we can give youth an outlet for their creativity and passion, then have that go to a good cause!” she exclaimed.
I’ve always been immersed in the live music scene and thought it would be so cool if I could combine my love for activism, music, and art.” -Amber Fink, Founder and Executive Director, AFC
Activism for Gaza
In August of 2025, AFC arranged another fundraiser night. This time, they donated their proceeds towards The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led initiative that supplies aid to displaced families in Gaza. Fink pointed out that the AFC team decided to break their rule of keeping their cause local because of their growing concern for the situation in Palestine. “I think it’s really easy to feel hopeless when you’re watching tragedy occur on screen and Art For Change, for me, has always been about hope,” said Fink. They raised over $3,022 for The Sameer Project.
Serving the community in Regina
Prior to this, in 2024, in partnership with Inspired Saskatchewan, they raised $2,300 towards aiding food insecurity and homelessness. Fink and other members would buy groceries and fill up the community fridges each week. She said that it was an eye opening experience for her seeing such need in the Regina community. “We would get all these groceries and we would look at our cart, and say we’ve got so much,” she shared. “By the time we put everything in the fridge, most of it was already gone.”
In December of 2025, North Central’s community fridge was caught in a commercial fire. Fink sees the community fridge as a vital resource, and for her team, it was obvious what their next initiative and sixth AFC event would be. “Any way that we can give back to our community and try to reinstate that resource– I think that is so needed, especially in these winter months,” explained Fink.
A community that welcomes and supports
For Fink, Regina’s support for AFC has been phenomenal and she finds the city to be a warm and welcoming place. “There’s a desire to see each other succeed and I think the causes we contribute to, even when it’s not local, directly strengthen our community,” she proclaimed. She highly encourages those interested to attend their events and share the cause on social media. To volunteer with the organization, send a direct message to their Instagram account, @artforchangeyqr.
This new year, Fink hopes that AFC will continue to give back to the community while being a great platform for artists to thrive on. “Moving towards a more equitable Regina or equitable Saskatchewan is honestly our goal as a whole,” stressed Fink.
