‘Empty Bowls’ for hunger relief: An ‘intersection of service… social justice… art practice’

By Molly Hudson

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KMTV) — The Empty Bowls Project is a national program. It came to Creighton University in 2006.

“It was actually inspired by a student who came to me and wanted to do her own empty bowls,” said Amy Nelson, the professor who started the program at Creighton.

From there Nelson decided to make it a full class effort.

Students hand-make the bowls, learn about the studio process, like making their own clay and loading the kiln, and ultimately put them on display for neighbors to buy.

“I have been really excited to take this class the whole time I have been studying art here,” said Callaghan Cavanaugh, a senior at Creighton.

All to help the Sienna Francis House.

“It is a really cool intersection of service and social justice and then also art practice,” Cavanaugh said.

Students like Callaghan Cavanaugh see the need firsthand. They spend the semester volunteering at the Sienna Francis House.

“I love to see how bringing art into a space and bringing the joy that comes with just creativity and sharing that, it just lights up everyone’s day,” Cavanaugh said.

“We really feel like they are welcoming us into their home and so in turn we want to give back to all the efforts that they do,” Nelson said.

Cavanaugh made 48 bowls for the sale, like this heart bowl.

“It was a departure from my practice and I also think it kind of represents like the warmth and love that we are trying to share through the sale,” Cavanaugh said.

The class is every year, but the sale is every other. Since coming to Creighton, bowls like these have raised over $80,000 for local hunger relief.

“I really hope people see all of these bowls as an individual vehicle for change and see just the impact that engaging with the arts makes with the rest of the community,” Cavanaugh said.

The bowls will be on sale Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The bowls range in price from $5 to $10. With every purchase you get a bowl of soup and bread, it’s all happening at the Lied Education Center for the Arts.

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