Seventh annual Empty Bowls event raises nearly $2,500 for local charity

UW-Green Bay’s Art Agency student organization raised nearly $2,500 for charity Wednesday, April 9, during the seventh annual Empty Bowls event held on campus.

Organizers sold roughly 250 handmade bowls during the four-hour event, with all proceeds going to Freedom House community shelter. For $10, attendees could fill a bowl, which was theirs to keep, with chili or soup from one of a half dozen local restaurants — Titletown Brewing Company, Whitedog Blackcatcafe, Kavarna Coffeehouse, Hagemeister Park, Regatta 220 and UW-Green Bay’s Shorewood Golf Course all contributed to this year’s event.

Art Agency is a student organization that connects art students, networks with visiting artists and engages in related community service projects. The group recently welcomed Minneapolis-based artist Michael Sommers for a 3-day workshop and culminating public performance.

Empty Bowls was started in Michigan in 1990, and the concept later evolved to allow participants to keep their handmade ceramic bowls as reminders of the persistent hunger in the world. The event has been replicated in nations around the world with myriad local opportunities for educators, artists and students. For general information about the project, visit www.emptybowls.net.

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Photos by Kimberly Vlies, Marketing and University Communication