Artist Guillermo Guardia creates a bowl for the fifth annual “Soup in the Studio.” The global Friends Coalition will be selling 150 hand crafted bowls to raise money to help refugees. Photo by Jayne Flaagan/Global Friends Coalition. 

The fifth annual “Soup in the Studio” will take place March 10 at the Muddy Waters Clay Center.

The event will feature soups from several Grand Forks restaurants and proceeds will go to the Global Friends Coalition, a local nonprofit organization that helps refugees improve English skills and become better connected within the community.

The soup will be available for a free-will donation — $10 is the suggested amount — or guests can purchase a handcrafted bowl for $30, including soup.

The event runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

The bowls to be used for the soup were designed by Guillermo Guardia, a full-time artist at the Muddy Waters Clay Center. He was the artist in residence at the North Dakota Museum of Art from 2009 to 2015. He moved from Lima, Peru, to Grand Forks in 2002 to attend UND.

Guardia’s bowl design was inspired by his grandfather, who was an immigrant from Japan. The bowls are shaped in a Japanese style, and each has unique handcrafted human figurines.

This year 150 bowls are being made for “Soup in the Studio.” This number is up from previous years. According to Alek Krumm, the education and outreach coordinator at Global Friends Coalition, they have consistently increased the number of bowls, and they have sold out every year.

The proceeds from the event will go toward Global Friends Coalition programs, events and operating expenses. “Soup in the Studio” is the organization’s main fundraising event of the year, so the money will go where it is needed.

The Global Friends Coalition also goes where it is needed, following the needs of New Americans. But at its core, the organization seeks to create
better relationships.

“The whole idea behind Global Friends is that we’re building friendships with New Americans,” Krumm said. “It’s now about building friendships through engaging the community in bigger discussions, talks about inclusion and unity.”

Two UND students will provide music at the event. Carlos Breña, a graduate student from Lima, Peru, and Vinicius Sant’Ana, a junior music performance major from Sao Paulo, Brazil, will perform. Both are violinists for the UND Student String Quartet.

There will be a raffle with art by local artists — Guardia, Kathryn Fink and Adam Kemp — with proceeds also going to the Global Friends Coalition.

“‘Soup in the Studio’ is a chance to eat soup, socialize and look at art,” Krumm said, adding that it also is a good chance for college students to see what a community event looks like.

“This is just a cool thing to experience as a UND student,” Krumm said. “It’s incredibly cultural and community focused. I think it’s a good place to start if students want a taste of the community.”

Lucas Amundson is the features editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]