Empty bowls
Encyclopedia
“Empty Bowls” is an international project to fight hunger
, personalized by artists and art organizations on a community level.
The promotion and growth of the project is managed by The Imagine/RENDER Group, a 501(c)3 organization. However, each community’s events are self developed and independent. The project expands one group of concerned artists and students at a time, and events are currently held in many areas in the United States
and Canada
, often in conjunction with the United Nations
sponsored World Food Day
. “Empty Bowls” now supports food related charities around the world and has raised millions of dollars to aid in the fight against hunger.
s and groups to create and donate bowls, then serve a simple meal. In some communities, ceramic
artists are joined by wood turners, glassblowers, fiber artists, metal smiths, painters, sculptors, and other artists and craftspeople. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. In exchange for the meal, and the bowl, guests contribute a suggested minimum donation. One hundred percent of each meal's proceeds are devoted to local hunger-fighting organizations, such as food bank
s or soup kitchen
s, or to national or international charitable groups.
“Empty Bowls” events can be sponsored by local potter
s and artists organizations, church
es, community service organizations and school
s. The expressed objectives of “Empty Bowls” are:
community. Hartom's idea was to organize a charitable event to give artists and art students a way to make a personal difference. Hartom's students made ceramic bowls in their high school art classes. The finished products were then used as individual serving pieces for a fund-raising meal of soup and bread. Contributing guests kept the empty bowl. During the next year, Hartom and other participants developed this concept into “Empty Bowls”. The Imagine/RENDER Group, a 501(c)3 organization, was created to promote the project.
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
, personalized by artists and art organizations on a community level.
The promotion and growth of the project is managed by The Imagine/RENDER Group, a 501(c)3 organization. However, each community’s events are self developed and independent. The project expands one group of concerned artists and students at a time, and events are currently held in many areas in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, often in conjunction with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
sponsored World Food Day
World Food Day
World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945...
. “Empty Bowls” now supports food related charities around the world and has raised millions of dollars to aid in the fight against hunger.
Charitable concept
“Empty Bowls” allows participating artistArtist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s and groups to create and donate bowls, then serve a simple meal. In some communities, ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
artists are joined by wood turners, glassblowers, fiber artists, metal smiths, painters, sculptors, and other artists and craftspeople. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. In exchange for the meal, and the bowl, guests contribute a suggested minimum donation. One hundred percent of each meal's proceeds are devoted to local hunger-fighting organizations, such as food bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s or soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
s, or to national or international charitable groups.
“Empty Bowls” events can be sponsored by local potter
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
s and artists organizations, church
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
es, community service organizations and school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s. The expressed objectives of “Empty Bowls” are:
- Raise as much money as possible to feed the world's hungry people. Lives are in the balance.
- Increase awareness of hunger and related issues. Through education, awareness, and action, concerned individuals can change human attitudes that allow hunger to exist.
- Advocate for arts education. Nurturing the creative process through the arts enhances the possibility of finding new solutions to old problems.
Project development
Art teacher John Hartom initiated the project during in 1990-91 when he joined a drive to raise charitable funds in his MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
community. Hartom's idea was to organize a charitable event to give artists and art students a way to make a personal difference. Hartom's students made ceramic bowls in their high school art classes. The finished products were then used as individual serving pieces for a fund-raising meal of soup and bread. Contributing guests kept the empty bowl. During the next year, Hartom and other participants developed this concept into “Empty Bowls”. The Imagine/RENDER Group, a 501(c)3 organization, was created to promote the project.