Visitors to Tower 4 of Vancouver’s Bentall Center can find local art for sale in vending machines, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting local arts organizations, according to a report by The Province. increase.

Crystal Lau, a Community Engagement employee at the University of British Columbia, founded the non-profit Vancouver Vending Company during the pandemic, when traditional art outlets closed.

Lau founded Vancouver Vending Co. and took to Instagram to solicit art pieces the size of candy or snack bags. She then purchased items for the machine with the assistance of the business improvement organization Downtown Her Vans.

Items range in price from 1 Loonie to $60 and include prints, sticker wraps, pins, buttons, magazines, coasters, buttons, patches and notebooks.

The refurbished snack machine will accept credit and debit cards and will be located in the Bentall Center Tower 4 food court for three months.

The machine has internal LED lights and an external wrap by a local illustrator.