Artists for Soup

Join us to support and celebrate the work of Artists for Soup while enjoying a taste of Central America, including complimentary hibiscus wine coolers, non-alcoholic beverages, appetizers, and desserts.

Raffle, fun and much more !

During the evening, Artists for Soup will screen and 8 minutes video to show the arts programs work performed in two rural communities in Nicaragua and in the city of Leon. Mercedes Alvarez, Greg Bowles, Allan Munoz and Judith Nichols will be available to answer questions and visit!

Suggested donation of $10 accepted at the event (sliding scale)

Your participation in this event will support Artists for Soup as we continue to promote agroecology, arts, and care for the earth in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Costa Rica.

In attendance:

Mercedes Alvarez:

Mercedes Álvarez​ was born in the Matagalpa mountains of Nicaragua before later moving to the

capital city of Nicaragua. Her early years of living in rural and urban poverty created a strong desire

in her to get a good education, as well as a strong sense of the need for political and economic justice

in her country. She attended college while also serving in the military during the 1980’s civil war.

She eventually earned a degree in chemical engineering. Mercedes has subsequently worked

throughout Central America (Panama, Honduras, Belize) in promotion of sustainable agriculture

methods for Sustainable Harvest International. She founded FUPROSOMUNIC in 2004, a

Nicaraguan non-profit that works with women through environmental and small-scale agriculture

programs.

Greg Bowles:

Greg Bowles worked in Mongolia and Bangladesh for the U.S. Peace Corps, before he came to

Nicaragua in 2000. Since then, he has worked in sustainable agriculture and potable water programs

in Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Panama and Nepal.  

Bowles has worked for Sustainable Harvest International, promoting sustainable agriculture

throughout Central America, and for four years he was director of Project Gettysburg-León. He

currently works with a number of non-profit organizations assisting projects that seek solutions to

potable water and sustainable agriculture in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Allan Justino Lindo Muñoz:

Allan Justino Lindo Muñoz, born in 1995, is known for his public murals.  Allan started

teaching art in 2006 at the Xuchialt School in Leon, Nicaragua.  He currently teaches art at the El

Centro de Arte Fundación Ortiz Gurdián, the best contemporary art center in Central America

where he works among paintings by artists such as the renowned Nicaraguan painter Armando

Morales, as well as works by artists such as Rubens, Miró, Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Diego

Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Fernando Botero and Roberto Matta.

Allan has participated in artistic exchanges to the U.S. and Spain.  On this trip to the northeast

U.S, he will be meeting other muralists, running workshops, and raising support for a Nicaragua-

based program called “Believe in Art,” that focuses on promoting art and culture in Leon,

Nicaragua by offering, drawing, painting and music classes for all ages.

Judith Nichols:

After two decades of teaching in the English department at Vassar College, Judith organized the non-

profit Artists for Soup in 2014. During 2005 and 2012, Nichols conducted multidisciplinary

academic research on how Costa Rica and Nicaraguan women in the Guanacaste region perceive and

adapt to environmental challenges. Her poetry collection, Blood Moon, Bright Stars (2016)

anticipates the development of Artists for Soup. The poems explore recent turbulent decades in

Nicaragua, and celebrate the potential power in ordinary human connection, which often leads

toward alliance and survival.

For more information, contact artistsforsoup@gmail.com