SIU ceramics students to help fill community needs with Empty Bowls

Oct 16, 2024

Bowls like these, created by SIU Carbondale ceramics students, will be available at this year’s Empty Bowls. (Photo provided)

October 04, 2024

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The talents of Southern Illinois University Carbondale ceramics students will be on display on Saturday, Oct. 12, while helping the community.

Empty Bowls, an event where art meets hunger, compassion and advocacy, returns to the Neighborhood Co-op Grocery in the Murdale Shopping Center, 1815 W. Main St. The event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or as long as the bowls last.

Talented students and faculty are creating 150 to 200 handcrafted ceramic bowls, which can be purchased for $15 to $20 each and then filled with a ladle of warm soup donated by Neighborhood Co-op. Proceeds from the event will go to The Survivor Empowerment Center (formerly The Women’s Center), said Pattie Chalmers, a professor and head of the ceramics program in the School of Art and Design.

Chalmers started the Empty Bowls program at SIU Carbondale in 2014; Empty Bowls is an international initiative.

The event is an opportunity for the community to come together, support the those in need and meet the talented students who made the bowls, Chalmers said.