ART REVEALING THE GUNFIRE EPIDEMIC
The Soul Box Project exhibits thousands of hand-folded origami boxes to raise awareness of the U.S. gunfire epidemic. We are a non-profit that is influencing the decisions of individuals and policymakers with a visually stunning call-to-action unlike any other gun violence prevention organization.
So far this year
men, women and children
have been
SHOT.
Over half the deaths are suicides.
Gun violence, defense and accidents killed the rest.
The number of injuries is even higher.
Many are disabled for life.
Countless others struggle with psychological trauma.
This is the
LOSS WE CARRY.
ARTivism is an
Effective Response to Gun Violence
The Soul Box Project is a way for us to respond to our country’s epidemic of gunfire deaths and injuries.
I can tell you over 70,000 people are killed or injured by bullets every year.* But with Soul Box exhibits you can see that number in a visceral way. Reaching that emotional place is what prompts action to save lives.
~Leslie Lee, Artist and Founder of The Soul Box Project
WHAT’S HAPPENING:
Here are ways to move this valuable VISUAL call-to-action forward:
Host an Exhibit or Event. The calming, restorative activity of folding origami Soul Boxes and adding them to public exhibits is an effective way to raise awareness by combining art with activism. You can host a day long event or a weekend event. Collaborate with other organizations in your community.
When you host an exhibit, you are displaying installations of Soul Boxes which can consist of just a few hundred or many thousands of Soul Boxes. Whether in a museum, library, theater, gallery, art center, church, business or community center, no budget or venue is too large or too small to provide an impact.
Share Your Story. Gunfire has affected so many lives in so many different ways. The more we hear different points of view the better our understanding, empathy, and solidarity will be.
This Loss We Carry on the National Mall in Washington D.C.– October 16-17
200,000 Soul Boxes were exhibited as This Loss We Carry on the National Mall in Washington D.C. with 800 linear feet of 36,000 Soul Boxes on panels under a canopy, and bags of 164,000 Soul Boxes lining the walkways spanning the Mall.
The effect was staggering. Thousands of visitors viewed the exhibit on the Mall with disbelief, tears and gratitude for the message. Over 100 million saw it in the news or on media channels.
- The Washington Post ran a feature article.
- CBS Morning ran a five minute story.
- NOW THIS has over 50,000 hits on Twitter and Instagram.
- News, Broadcast and Social Media viewership exceeded 500 million for This Loss We Carry.
Time and again visitors to the exhibit shared the pressing need of gun violence awareness in their communities, towns, cities, and states, wanting to know how they could bring the Soul Box Project to their area.
The epidemic of gun violence has grown within the COVID-19 pandemic. With a spike in sales of guns and ammunition the curve of the gunfire epidemic is going up even as the coronavirus curve goes down.
The Soul Box Project
reveals the U.S. gunfire epidemic by counting and honoring victims.
Our exhibits visually showcase the true extent of the U.S. gunfire epidemic. Each Soul Box holds a physical space for a life lost or injured by gun violence, defense, accident or suicide. People across the country have made and sent us thousands of hand-folded origami boxes:
Each one counts. Each one is seen.
Each loss is felt.
The entire work of art—representing the number of U.S. gunfire deaths and injuries in three years—was displayed in Washington, D.C., on October 16-17, 2021.
With your continued support, we can send the Soul Box panels out to communities nationwide to keep spreading the awareness of Gun Fire Epidemic across the U.S. Contact us to bring a selection to your town.
The Soul Box Project
offers healing participation to those seeking solace.
I had no inclination to make a box at all. I really was reluctant. Finally, I went through the process of just folding the paper. I couldn’t be in the emotional part and fold the box at the same time. It turned off that part of my brain to the grief that was so painful. I couldn’t find any other way.
There it was right in front of me, two pieces of paper – folding them. It’s beautiful.
~Andrew M., who lost his son to suicide
As a parent [these Soul Boxes] make me think: each person who made a Box has felt the pain of a lost soul. Every knock on the door, every phone call, you pray it’s not news like this.
~Anonymous
It was a joy watching Angela making her Boxes! After a few tears and sobs, she really felt good about what she was doing. Your project has accomplished not only awareness, but a comfort to those who have lost so many loved ones.
~Susie P.
The Soul Box Project
provides dramatic visual support for all initiatives working for a safer, more civil society.
Groups and organizations across the country have collaborated with our Project by using Soul Boxes to support their activism. Folding a Soul Box is a calming, restorative activity for groups or individuals. Add your locally-made Boxes to an exhibit to effectively raise public awareness.
Soul Boxes remember individuals lost or injured by any circumstance of shooting: violence, defense, accident or suicide. Our exhibits represent and honor people of every race, cultural background, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation.
We assist any group looking for ways to dramatize their messages about reducing gun violence. Get inspiration from the creative events and exhibits others have hosted. Then Contact us to plan action in your community.
Our Founding Supporters Have Our Deepest Appreciation
