Soup, art and ideas

On Saturday, a few dozen people crowded into a downtown loft space for a good, art-centered cause.

African American Artists Beginning to Educate Americans about African American Art (ABEA), led by artist Della Wells, sponsored its first Soup Chronicles: Micro Funding for Artists.

And two Chronicle candidates, Monika Harris and June Schumacher, presented their pitches for their own personal art projects.

In a perfect world, such a fundraising idea would be ingenious. Simply put, patrons bring along their own bowls and dish out a $5 entry fee. In exchange, they hear about the artists’ backgrounds, see their work, get two ladles of soup and a slice of bread (juice, too, for an additional donation) and before the event ends, they select one artist to win the day’s money pot. Ninety percent of whatever is raised via the entry/soup fees goes directly to the winner, who can then use the funds for project building. (Ten percent is kept by ABEA for the next scheduled micro-funding Chronicle.)

That’s in a perfect world. But on Saturday, it was apparent that this project could use a bit of smoothing out. While each artist spoke enthusiastically and coherently about artistic dreams and ambitions neither actually presented works for the audience to see.

Chronicle candidate Monika Harris, an Africology/political science major at UW-Milwaukee, spoke of starting an e-zine that focuses on black womanist thoughts and perspectives.

Candidate June Schumacher, a muralist from Endeavor, WI, told the group how she hopes to begin a community-wide mural project in her town and surrounding areas.

In the end, audience members (a mix of artists and curious community folk) sipped on root soup, casually asked questions of the candidates and voted.

A tearfully surprised Harris emerged the winner. She received just over $170 to put toward her e-zine project.  “This was overwhelming,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it. I’m really glad people were willing to give me a chance. I’m stoked.”

Schumacher plans to take her presentation on the road and seek out grants and other funding opportunities. Wells told her that she could reapply for Chronicle funding as well.

Wells was pleased with the inaugural effort. “I think it went well,” she said after the event. “It’s a no-frills way for artists to obtain funding, and it was a way to engage the community in art.”