SOS (Save Our Souls) ART Cincinnati :
SOS ART’s History:
21 years ago, in 2003, SOS ART began as an art exhibit and an art festival with related events and publications concerning issues of peace and justice as expressed by Greater Cincinnati artists. The annual art event grew to include, in addition to the works of established artists, artwork by school and after school children; also to engage children through classroom visits and workshops. 8 years ago (2015) SOS ART gained non-profit status and has since expanded its various activities through more art exhibits and art events, more workshops and wider educational programs, expanded publications, greater media presence and more dynamic public engagement, all around issues of peace and justice. SOS ART has in particular expanded its educational activities with children linking the teaching and practice of art to the introduction of basic values of peace and justice in the children and youth.
SOS ART Mission:
1) encourage, promote and provide opportunities and venues for the arts as dynamic vehicles for peace and justice, for a change, and for a better world
2) encourage artists of all ages and backgrounds (including children) to use their art as their voice and communication tool on issues of peace and justice that concern them, their community and the world. 3) facilitate the creation of a local community of artists who network and collaborate together using art as a means to impact issues of peace and justice in the community where they live.
4) use the arts to speak about, inform, educate and create a dialogue on issues of peace and justice and thus to bring about positive change.
5) through educational activities, use the arts to introduce basic values of peace and justice in children and youth
SOS ART Vision:
SOS ART, recognizing that Art can be a catalyst of change for a better world and that the artist plays an important role in this respect, would like to:
1) see an increasing number of artists use their art away from the mere commodity and consumer aspect of their work to reflect more on issues that concern them and the world.
2) see the formation of a community of creative people who are committed to using artistic practice, education and public advocacy to effect positive change on issues of peace and justice in their community, their region and the world.
3) succeed in instilling in children, from a very young age, values of peace and justice, compassion, tolerance and love, and this, by introducing them through the teaching and practice of art.
SOS ART’s Principles:
1) SOS ART’s engagement and work are local, i.e. in and for the Greater Cincinnati area
2) SOS ART is democratic, open equally to all Greater Cincinnati artists irrespective of their age, gender, background, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, academic achievements…
3) SOS ART works equally with adults and children and a good part of its involvements is with children in classrooms and after school programs
4) SOS ART aims at promoting the voice and the message of the artist and not the artist’s notoriety and/or salability
5) SOS ART is money free, i.e. nobody pays and nobody is being paid.
a) Artists who participate in its exhibitions or its publications do not pay to do so; also artists who perform in its festivals are not paid and donate freely their time and talents
b) SOS ART’s activities are all open and free to the public
c) SOS ART’s publications are given free to all participating artists, also to local public, university and school libraries
d) SOS ART believes that gratuity is an important value being lost in our society, that it needs to be restored, cultivated and disseminated, and that reward does not have to be only in terms of money but rather in the joy of giving and sharing.
e) SOS ART also believes that money is one of the main reasons for the lack of peace and justice in our world.
How does SOS ART Achieve its Mission?
1) SOS ART organizes a yearly Exhibit and Festival of the Arts focused on Peace and Justice. It is open and free to all Greater Cincinnati Artists, including children from various schools and after school programs
2) SOS ART publishes regularly books that pertain to art and peace and justice, including 2 yearly ones: “SOS ART” book and “For a Better World: Book of Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice by Greater Cincinnati Artists”. All SOS ART’s publications can be viewed
at: https://sosartcincinnati.com/publications/
3) SOS ART directs and facilitates workshops and art classes in schools and after school programs, linking the teaching and the practice of art to the introduction of basic values and values of peace and justice in the youth
4) SOS ART curates and organizes exhibits of local artists and of artists from other countries on the themes of peace and justice
5) SOS ART organizes panel discussions, public debates, poetry readings, etc. all on the themes of peace and justice
What are some of SOS ART’s Achievements?
1) Since its creation in 2003, SOS ART, through its exhibits, festivals and publications, has given the voice to more than 3000 local visual artists and to more than 700 local poets, among them a large number of children, also to a large number of performers, all ages and backgrounds
2) SOS ART has regularly involved students of many schools and after school programs in its activities. Starting in 2022, SOS ART has implemented the yearly YOUTH SOS ART exhibit and art event for peace and justice; it focuses specifically on the artistic voice of children and youth.
3) SOS ART has published more than 50 books celebrating creative artistic expressions of our community on issues of peace and justice. All SOS ART’s publications can be viewed at: https://sosartcincinnati.com/publications/
4) SOS ART has developed an art teaching curriculum to be used in the teaching of art as a tool to introduce basic values and values of peace and justice in the youth. SOS ART has been applying parts of this curriculum in its children’s activities
5) In 2019 SOS ART published a book containing poems by 100 of the best of our local poets paired with illustrative drawings by 100 of our best local visual artists, all on peace and justice, a celebration of the best in our community. This book has been given free to public, university and school libraries. Modules from the book (including poems and drawings), based on a given value, are accompanied by teaching reference guides and have been made available free to creative writing and art teachers to use in the classroom with their students.
6) In 2022 SOS ART initiated a project of producing and publishing comic books on themes of peace and justice, geared towards children ages 7 to 15. Each of these books contains 2 stories on the same theme of peace and justice, illustrated by 2 different local artists. They are given free to elementary and complementary schools of greater Cincinnati and vicinity with the intent to have the stories read by the children and the theme discussed by their teacher in the classroom.
This site highlights the work of SOS ART Cincinnati, which sponsors various art activities including: art events and exhibitions, publications, and educational programs, all focused on peace and justice.
Visit the Opportunities page for upcoming events and upcoming opportunities for artists and poets.
Visit the Gallery where we will highlight visual works of our participating artists.
Read our Religious Peacemakers posts which feature Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs as promoters for peace and justice and for a better world.
Support us by Donating your time and/or money to help us achieve our mission.
Contact us for more information.
This site and the work therein, some of which represents the works of individual artists who retain copyright, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For any inquiries about potential re-use of content, Contact Saad Ghosn at SOS ART Cincinnati.
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