From the foreword of the catalog, The Souls, NJ Chapter, Volume 3:
This catalog chronicles the third Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition that will travel throughout New Jersey. Souls Shot Portrait Project began in Philadelphia almost a decade ago and has been representing those taken by senseless gun violence through artworks honoring the lives lived and giving voice to those who grieve for these loved ones.
To create these portraits, artists participating in Souls Shot Portrait Project were randomly paired with families and friends of those lost to gun violence. The artists met with the families and friends to get to know who the person was in life through photographs, videos, mementos, and the all-important stories. The artists then set out to illuminate the lives of these loved ones. The varied approaches and mediums used by the artists are a fitting testament to the unique qualities of each of the souls portrayed. Families are often questioned about the circumstances leading to the death of their loved ones and rarely about who the person was. Souls Shot Portrait Project focuses on the lives that were lived before the split- second, unacceptable decision was made by the shooter. These people did not deserve the consequences of that devastating choice. These people were—and are—more than statistics. A word about the commentaries in this book: we invited participating family members, friends, and artists to share a written passage about their loved one or about the experience of creating the portrait—these are included in this catalog on the pages facing the portrait images. In order to retain the intensity and emphasis of the writers, these messages are presented exactly as written.
This catalog represents the commitment of all who are involved in Souls Shot Portrait Project. We will continue to bring to the public intimate glimpse into the lives cut short by gun violence; to raise awareness of the terrible cost to our communities; to touch hearts and minds’ to move people to take action.
On behalf of all those who participated in creating this exhibition, we hope you will be moved by the images and that you will get to know the depth of these unique human beings; our kindred souls.
Laura Madeleine, Executive Director and Curator
SCHEDULE OF HOST VENUES
You can view more details on our prospective calendar for this exhibition by clicking HERE
The Portraits
our 2025-2026 volume 8 exhibition catalog
LINK TO ORDER COMING SOON
The Artists
Ebony Bennett
Ebony Bennett is a Philadelphia-based artist and a proud participant in the Souls Shot Portrait Project. Known for her vibrant and heartfelt creations, Ebony uses her art to honor the lives of gun violence victims, capturing their essence and celebrating their stories. Through this work, she strives to foster healing, remembrance, and dialogue within the community. Ebony’s art reflects her commitment to using creativity as a tool for advocacy, connection, and change. Ebennettart.com
Sally Benton
Sally Benton was born outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1953. She was drawn to art at a very young age, and after high school, attended Moore College of Art. For the past ten years, she has been studying oil painting at the Woodmere Art Museum, in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia with Paul DuSold, Academy of Fine Arts alumnus and teacher at the Fleisher Art Memorial and the Wayne Art Center. From 2016 through 2020, Sally has exhibited her paintings at the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s “Small Paintings” and “Art of the Flower” shows, the New Hope Art League’s 7th Annual Juried Show, the Cheltenham Art league’s 2018 and 2022 Juried Shows, and again, in 2018, as part of a two-person show at the Hill at Whitemarsh in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. In March of 2020, Sally won best still-life at the First Annual Juried Show at the Gallery on the Hill, in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Sally resides in Flourtown, Pennsylvania with her supportive husband Andy.
sallybentonart.com
Robin Brownfield
Robin Brownfield is a former sociology professor in Collingswood, New Jersey who turned to mosaic art after becoming disabled. She has created murals, garden walkways, ornate furniture, and countless other mosaic works, but recently, she has turned to doing portraits and works for social justice. She was featured in a FOX-29 (Philadelphia) News report, because she was commissioned by Tamika Palmer to do a mosaic portrait of her daughter, Breonna Taylor, whose death, in part, launched an international movement for justice for victims of racist murders. Brownfield has also worked as an organizer for the United Farm Workers, a labor journalist, has written and performed in musicals in NYC, and is a community activist. As the child of a bi-racial couple, fighting racism, economic, and social injustice is central to her existence. She creates portraits and pictures that focus on injustice, because she is angry at the flagrant disregard for the lives of people of color in the United States. It’s important to use art to educate and inform people, and motivate them to want to take action against racism. The deaths of all the people in her Black Lives Matter series were modern day lynchings, largely committed by those who have the social power and privilege to destroy lives without consequences. She has also addressed anti-Asian hatred in United States history, with a portrait of her parents, and the kinds of problems her family had to endure when her Filipino-American mother was alive. She wants people to be angry enough to work to change the racist system in the United States.
robinbrownfieldmosaics.com
Shannon Cronin
Born in Southern California, 1975; raised in Huntsville, Alabama; currently living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Education: Rice University, Houston, Texas, majoring in studio art and architectural studies, cum laude, 1998; Rice studio art program in Greece with Basilios Poulos, 1996. Primary media are painting (watercolor and egg tempera) and textiles.
shannoncroninart.com
Loren Dann
Loren Dann is a multi-faceted artist, entrepreneur, and educator with a master’s degree in the business of art and design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). As the founder and executive director of the South Jersey Artist Collective (SJAC), a 501c3 non-profit organization, Loren has secured over $200,000 in grants since 2019, fostering innovative art programming for community-based initiatives. As a freelance artist, Loren has numerous self-curated exhibitions, showcasing original works and strengthening community engagement in the arts. She has designed and taught curricula for adult and youth learners across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, focusing on inclusive communities that embrace diversity and individual expression.
lorendann.com
Lene Dronen
Lene is an artist/photographer born in Norway, presently living in the United States. Lene is determined to capture the profound beauty of all the things around her, bringing a unique creative twist into the process. Her pieces have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions around the world. The ‘heart project,’ led by Lene, has been making a continuous effort to work with people of all ranges of disability, as a pathway to changing the longstanding social and cultural perceptions often held in society. Art made by Lene strives to celebrate and reflect the full spectrum of the human experience, highlighting the beauty of each person.
lenedronen.com
Tim Joyce
Tim is a self-taught painter from the Philadelphia area who has been painting as a hobby for over 20 years. This is his second exhibit working with Souls Shot Portrait Project.
Ann Hayes
Ann Hayes has spent a lifetime painting people, and the places that shape their lives. Her art is filled with light, life and a deep appreciation for the beauty of natural and lived-in landscapes. My studies began as a teenager with New York artist Earl Tyler at his summer studio in Bay Head. He taught traditional methods of perspective, value and figure painting. I use these techniques to portray the experience of everyday life. I am interested in capturing the complexities of life, the layers of history and the connections to our surroundings.” Hayes’ approach to her portrait and figurative paintings elevates the story and surroundings of the subject as equally important as their age, coloring and features. Hayes has a BA in studio art and art education from Douglass College, Rutgers University, and has also studied under Roberta Carter Clark, Daniel Greene, Patrick Saunders, Nelson Shanks, and James Toogood. Her work has been featured in books and magazines including Night & Day, Down the Shore Once More, Long Beach Island Rhapsody, and Jersey Shore Magazine. She previously contributed a painting to the 2022 Philadelphia exhibit of Souls Shot Portrait Project. annhayesart.com
Rebecca Hoenig
I am drawn to the spiritual aspects of art and the essential mystery inherent in all natural and artistic creation. I work in a wide array of media including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, collage, and sculpture. I have participated in many group shows as well as several solo exhibitions.
rebeccahoenigart.com
Eoin Kinnarney
Eoin Kinnarney is an Associate Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.
Dori Miller
Dori Miller is a painter and papermaker who structures safe havens to work with conflicting materials, where they can meet, and finding that nothing is truly opposed. She graduated with her MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. She received a BFA from Mason Gross school of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She has shown in solo and group shows at Pen + Brush in New York, Philly Art Collective, the Plastic Club, 119th Annual Student Exhibition at PAFA, Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio, FMC Tower, Cambridge Innovation Center, the Common Room, Mason Gross Galleries, and Rutgers University Art Library. She has been part of two print exchanges and a virtual artist residency at the Weaving Mill in Chicago. Among other awards, she has received the Merit Scholarship & MFA Artistic Excellence Scholarship at PAFA, the Marlene and David Tepper Chair in Visual Arts Scholarship, New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs Fine Arts Fellowship, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship, Ruth Crocket Art Prize, and the Best Work Submitted prize at Union County College. dorimillerfineartist.com
Patricia O’Halloran
BA in fine art, Rosemont College. MSC in educational counseling, Villanova University. Attended Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Taught “The Figure” at Hussian School of Art, and oil painting in Main Line School Night, Wayne Art Center and Main Line Art Center.
patriciaohalloran.com
Jacqueline Sandro-Greenwall
Jacqueline Sandro-Greenwell currently is the director of the Fine Art Department and Clay College of RCSJ. She has exhibited her work in various galleries and museums throughout the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York areas. She was the recipient of the New Jersey State Independent Artist grant in 2023 by the New Jersey State Council of the Arts.
Stephanie Campbell Smith
Stephanie Campbell Smith is a scenic painter and muralist based in Maryland. She completed public art for private and public entities and her work has been featured in dozens of exhibitions.
stephaniesmith1.crevado.com
Juliette Watts
Juliette Watts is a painter and illustrator living near Philadelphia. Her career includes a number of years as a medical and scientific illustrator. She monitors and participates in life drawing workshops at the Plastic Club, one of the oldest art clubs in Philadelphia. In recent years she has focused on the human figure, both in movement and in portraiture. She is deeply interested in the human form: its movement, the textures and shapes of the hair, the face, the structures. But in addition, she is intrigued by the inner person that is manifest in these outward forms—the spirit of a person that expresses itself in subtle, often unspoken ways. She finds the fluidity of watercolor lends itself well to this. Looking for and exploring the inner person is what keeps her excited and passionate about painting people, and in particular, their portraits.
juliettewatts.com