Collaborations 

The development and goals of The St. Kate's Empty Bowls Project, led by Assistant Professor Monica Rudquist, have evolved as new professionals have introduced their perspectives to the project. Project contributor Elizabeth Dunens recognizes the importance of work focusing on “connecting communities like St. Kate’s with the hyperlocal communities outside of them,” such as the non-profit organization, Open Arms of Minnesota. The mission and purpose of Open Arms, “To build a joyful and nourishing community that provides medically tailored meals and hope for people experiencing a significant health crisis or living with a life-threatening illness,” aligns with the values of St. Catherine. Seeing value in contributing to a world of equity, fairness, and systemic change for everyone, the university and the founding Sisters of St. Joseph welcome the surrounding community without distinction. Equally aware of this connection, Corinne Burnell has made significant contributions to the Empty Bowls Project even as an undergraduate student. D’Ann Urbaniak Lesch has also integrated the project into multiple areas of education at St. Kate’s, such as the Assistantship Mentoring Program. The mission of the Empty Bowls Project has focused on fighting food insecurity throughout its ten-year length and the goals of this project have evolved in the vision and the collaborative effort of St. Catherine University, Open Arms of Minnesota, and the surrounding community.

Assistant Professor at St. Catherine University, Monica Rudquist, has brought her perspective as a potter and educator into her collaborations with Elizabeth, Corinne, and D’Ann in creative and various ways through the ten years of The St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project. Monica is responsible for initially introducing the Empty Bowls project to St. Catherine, an organization that already had local roots in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood. She integrated the project into the community and academics at the university, such as The Clay Club, and later service-learning classes around 2016 in connection to D’Ann. Through the evolution of the project, Monica and her collaborators have come up with creative solutions and integrations for the project, like facilitating a virtual bowl-making event for alumni called Food for Thought in response to challenging situations such as the shut-down period of the pandemic, for example. Monica describes the process of the project, “Making bowls, firing kilns, carrying clay, all of these engagements have created a deeper connection to help Open Arms provide for those in need at a critical time in life.” 

Previous Associate Director of the Center for Community Work and Learning at St. Catherine University, Elizabeth Dunens, made remarkable contributions during her four years as a part of the Empty Bowls project. Aware of the importance and multiple layers of service-learning ingrained within the project, Elizabeth describes the setting of previous Soup Socials and Making Events in her own words as a setting, “Creating a meaningful space to engage in creativity.” Although a connection already existed between Open Arms of Minnesota and St. Kate's, in 2016 Elizabeth, Monica, and Deandra Bieneman (Open Arms) met to collaboratively identify a number of ways to deepen the St. Kate's Empty Bowls and Open Arms partnership. Elizabeth has worked with Monica Rudquist to integrate Open Arms into various service-learning classes at the university, such as The Reflective Woman and Global Search for Justice. Exploring opportunities to develop the project, Elizabeth has connected students interested in relatable volunteer work with Open Arms and vice versa. With her educational perspective as an Art History Undergraduate, brainstorming ideas for soup socials, media marketing, volunteering time, and facilitation of bowl making at Citizen Katie Event are also notable contributions Elizabeth has made towards the project.

Corinne Burnell is a current Associate in the St. Catherine Alumni Office, and she has made many contributions to the Empty Bowls Project since 2019. Corinne felt welcomed to her first soup social as a new employee at the university at this time. Aware of the prevalence of food insecurity in the Twin Cities, Corinne recognizes the value of the project in “connecting real-world problems to solutions.” For example, to bring joy to young alumni and keep them connected to the St. Catherine community, collaborative work between Corinne, Monica Rudquist, and Assistant Mentorship Programs organized and hosted a virtual soup social called Food for Thought during the isolation period of the pandemic in the spring of 2021. Participants of the virtual project learned to make paper bowls after receiving an art kit in the mail from collaborator Wet Paint. Corinne also had the chance to contribute to Empty Bowls as an undergraduate when she worked on a marketing team to develop a plan for the future of Open Arms of Mn.

As the current Director of the Center for Community Work and Learning and the Strategic Director of the Office of Scholarly Engagement at St. Catherine University, D’Ann Urbaniak Lesch has found many areas of connection between Open Arms of Minnesota and The St. Kate's Empty Bowl Project since 2015. Expressing the value that art and collaboration have early in her involvement with the project, D’Ann initially communicated with Monica Rudquist about the possibility of connecting some student leaders and interns with the opportunity to make clay bowls. In 2016 D’Ann continued her work when she integrated Empty Bowls into the alumni and student-driven event Citizen Katie and service-learning classes that also focused their work on the social issue of food insecurity, such as nutrition and communication courses at the university. Recognizing further connections, D’Ann also applied the project to the Assistantship Mentoring Program facilitated by the Center for Community Work and Learning. D’Ann sees the project as a method that “addresses an important social justice issue that works to create a better world for everyone.”

This year, St. Kates will celebrate a decade of success under the direction of Assistant Professor Monica Rudquist with an outdoor ice cream social in front of the Catherine C. Murphy Gallery. Continuing real progress in its efforts to bring awareness to and reduce the social problem of food insecurity in the surrounding St. Catherine community, this project has brought students, faculty, family, and friends together in their mutual love of art and commitment to their community throughout its evolution of ten years. Collaboration and personal efforts have accelerated this project forward in shared visions of art, social justice, and communities. The work of contributors like Corinne Burnell, Elizabeth Dunens, and D’Ann Lesch has been instrumental in writing letters to receive the Presidential Award for Campus Compact in connection to the St. Kate’s empty Bowl Project in 2018. Keeping in mind the intersecting missions of St. Catherine and Open Arms of Minnesota, each collaborator has added unique resources and perspectives in their contributions to creatively reducing food insecurity.

The St. Kate's Assistantship Mentoring Program, AMP, is a program designed to provide semester-long opportunities for students to engage in collaborative and creative opportunities within the college and with the community. For example, there are opportunities in research, teaching, and community outreach. For several years, AMP students at St. Kate's have been involved in Empty Bowls, which is an international grassroots program that pairs ceramics programs in high schools and colleges with local community organizations working to fight hunger. Our ceramic's program has been aligned with Open Arms of Minnesota for over 10 years, an organization that serves through preparing and delivering meals to individuals living with life-threatening illnesses. This community involvement project is an excellent example of how St. Kate's values of integrating learning, scholarship, community work, and social justice are translated into action to produce a tangible improvement in the lives of others in our communities. 

One of the AMP students to participate in this project is Solveigh Johnson, who is a recent graduate who majored in Women in International Development and Public Policy with a minor in Studio Arts. She worked as an AMP student for three years, which is unusual. During her experience working with the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project, she helped with organizing many key events, including the first Soup Social at the American Swedish Institute and organizing the soup social. Critically, she was responsible for bringing in new organizations as sponsors and participants. For example, she involved CLUES, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, which is a local organization that seeks to, "...ensure the advancement of social and economic equity and wellbeing for Latinos in Minnesota." CLUES participated in making and glazing events. Those makers were invited to come back to decorate their bowls at a later time, which were then added to the bowls donated for the Empty Bowls auction. In addition, Solveigh did a 10-year anniversary Empty Bowls project. It started as a mural to be located at the community organization, but faced with logistical challenges, including COVID, the project morphed into a bench for their garden. She sought and received special permission to go into the ceramics studio during the pandemic to create a basic hand-built chair form. She pulled the community into her project by inviting others to submit digital scans or pictures of drawings that they did, and she asked for meaningful quotes in people's native languages. She was able to integrate those pictures and words into her final project. 

Julia Walquist is a junior in the nursing program. She has been involved with the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project for the last two years. Her first year of involvement was during a period when classes were virtual, and so the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project was done virtually as well. Unable to access the ceramics studio, students worked from home using materials they had at hand. Some of creative clay alternatives for bowl creation included packing materials, coffee filters, food, and baked goods, which were included in a virtual classroom show. Having found the project engaging and consistent with the values of her academic program, the following semester, she volunteered to assist Assistant Professor Monica Rudquist in setting up the first virtual soup social, which invited interested members to gather for lunch with their favorite bowl and share stories. This year, Julia is an AMP TA for GSJ, which is a senior capstone course, and the course through which the Empty Bowls project is run.  Her focus this year has been helping grow and expand the Empty Bowls project in several ways. First, she's increased media awareness, for example increased advertising. Second, through greater community engagement such as getting more community members involved making the bowls. Finally, she's worked to get more business involved to support the project such as Lund’s & Byerly’s, and the American Swedish Institute. Corporate sponsorship and participation is one way in which the project can significantly enhance the financial contribution that Empty Bowls is able to make towards Open Arms. Importantly, the expansion is key to supporting the project's long-term sustainability. To the extent that the project relies heavily on volunteer time from students and faculty, the project scope and success can be variable. By creating more long-term relationships with corporate and non-profit organizations, the continued success of the project can be better supported. Interestingly, the project will be trying something new this year -- an ice cream social instead of the soup social, which will likely make for a pleasant outdoor spring activity.

Students who participate in AMP, whether that's Empty Bowls or any of the other myriad options available through St. Kate's, find it to be an invaluable experience. Julia mentioned how it taught her that she has skills she hadn't even realized that enable her to be of service to others. For example, she went into the project unsure of her ability to organize an event from start to finish, but left with an increased confidence in her ability to accomplish what needs to be done to see a project to fruition. Similarly, Solveigh felt that AMP in general, and working closely with a professor specifically, served to advocate for her as a student and as an active citizen. And, as Assistant Professor Rudquist then observed, this experience then enabled Solveigh to herself become a stronger advocate for others.

Utilizing Community Partnerships to Further the Impact of the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project 

The art of collaboration can play a key role in strengthening a community and furthering a mission. One of the goals of the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project is to bring community members together to bond over the experience of contributing to a greater cause. Participants can tap into their artistic minds and merge their visions however they wish, but the power of collaboration goes far beyond an individual scale.

A collaboration between organizations can provide ample opportunity for community outreach and growth. This opportunity is something that the facilitators of the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project have tapped into, specifically with respect to their partnership with the American Swedish Institute (ASI) in Minneapolis, MN. Solveigh Johnson, an alumna and major contributor to the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project, discussed how the project could do more when expanded beyond campus lines –

Johnson had many responsibilities within the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project, one of those being a facilitation role between St. Kate’s and the American Swedish Institute (ASI). Not only was St. Kate’s able to host making events at ASI, but the beloved Soup Social took place at the Institute, as well. The event consisted of ticket purchases, a ballroom location, guest speakers, and a washing station for the bowls once empty again. The collaboration with ASI yielded many benefits, one of those being the generation of more funds, fueled by a great turnout of a new population of ASI community members brought together through art and the hope for change. Johnson saw this event as a great way to reach a broader community and portray the power of art, stating, “It really makes such an impact on people’s lives.” The new partnership was beneficial for St. Kate’s, and ASI was able to raise funds for their respective organization, proving it to be an event that made an impact all around. This collaboration is an excellent example of the mutually beneficial relationship that organizational partnerships can create, but it also hints at how missions can be furthered by working together. The concept of community engagement and collaborative growth, especially as it relates to art, is one that Emily Seru is very familiar with – 

Emily Seru was introduced to the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project when she began working with the Center for Community Work and Learning at St. Kate’s. Throughout her 2-year involvement, she gained first-hand experience with the project and used it to introduce service-learning into some of the school’s core classes. When asked what stands out when thinking about the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project, Seru had three main takeaways: “Simple connection, culture of generosity, care of each other.” She reflected on her first soup social and how an event can bring people together by simply sharing a meal. Everyone was joined together on a “neutral and level playing field,” and while seemingly simple, it was extremely positive. 

The impact that a project like this can have is something else upon which Seru reflected. She explained how collaborations and community engagement don’t just grow awareness and attendance but also the force of people who feel they have a stake in the mission. Seru described her most vivid experience of this impact in the Spring of 2020, shortly after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent social uprisings. She illustrated the tension and fear in her neighborhood and those surrounding her, preparing to flee if the time came. On the Saturday following the worst of the rioting, a clean-up took place along University Avenue, and a group of artists held a healing event in an empty lot around the corner from Seru’s home. “People created murals together, showing solidarity for Black lives, they danced, they played music, our family held handwritten signs that read ‘Love’ and waved them at the cars driving by while we danced. Many of us were crying- but it felt so hopeful to stand there together, making art.” This experience is another illustration of the impact that artistic collaboration can have on a community and its role in furthering a mission. To summarize her experience with art and social justice, Seru described “a connective force that brings people together to learn from each other, make new connections, and to experience points of healing and strength.” She also explained how the feeling of being a part of something fosters investment in the work that goes along with it. 

A goal of the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project is not only to raise funds for Open Arms of Minnesota but also to bring awareness to the issue of food insecurity that seems to quietly plague our society, even though it impacted over 38 million people in 2020 (USDA, 2021). When St. Kate’s can collaborate with organizations that share a similar goal and expand their outreach, the ability to fulfill this mission is strengthened. There is profound power in community and art, and when that power is utilized in the form of collaboration, there is no limit as to how far it can go.