The “Souls Shot Portrait Project” is bringing the names and faces of gun violence victims to Haddonfield, New Jersey. It’s the first time the traveling exhibition is in the Garden State. NBC10’s Cydney Long shows us how the exhibition brings attention and memorializes the victims of gun violence. Watch the full feature here.

Posted on: 1/10/23

Thank you to reporter Matteo Iadonisi of 6abc News for recently featuring our 2022 Philadelphia exhibition on their news channel. In this feature, you hear from a mother of a victim of gun violence, Emily Johnson, speak about her son Kaylin Johnson, who’s portrait is featured in this exhibition. To view the full story on 6abc News, click here.

Posted on: 1/4/22

The Souls Shot Portrait Project goes on display in New Jersey this week. KYW Newsradio featured our 2021 NJ exhibition. Hear or Read the full feature here.

Posted on: 1/4/2022

The Sun Newspapers featured our 2021 New Jersey exhibition opening at Markeim Arts Center in January 2023. We are grateful to receive this coverage on our work, our mission and our exhibition. Read the full article here.

Posted on: 12/30/22

This is the third Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition hosted by Einstein Philadelphia and was brought to the medical center thanks to the Trauma Department and team.  As the busiest Level 1 Trauma Center in the City of Philadelphia, the doctors, nurses and staff in Einstein’s Emergency Department see firsthand the devastation caused by guns on a regular basis. Thank you to Einstein Perspectives for this insightful article on the gun violence epidemic and for featuring our project on your media outlet. Read the full article here.

Posted on: 11/25/22

Laura Madeline, Executive Director and Curator of Souls Shot Portrait Project, made opening remarks at the Yeo Prize event at Jefferson on November 17, 2022. Winning essayists read their work. You can view the full event video here (Warning, some essays do include graphic descriptions) - View the remarks from Laura Madeleine on our news page here.

Posted on: 12/5/22

Columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Helen Ubinas, writes about our newest exhibition, the 2022-23 Philadelphia portraits. She interviews artist, howard Henry Chen and mother of a victim of gun violence, Katrina Crump about their experience in participating in our project, as well as the effect of gun violence in their lives and community. Read the full article here.

Posted on 12/5/22

The PA Office of Victim Advocate invited our Executive Director, Laura Madeleine to join in on a virtual gun violence community response event on November 7, 2022. Suzanne Estrella discusses prevention, and healing with guests - Adara Combs, Philadelphia Victim Advocate - Chardan Huston, Harrisburg Police Director of Community Relations - Darlene Wilson, survivor activist - Laura Madeline, Souls Shot Portrait Project Executive Director.

You can also watch the FB version of this event here.

Posted on: 11/10/22

Reporter Stephanie Stahl features our 2021 Philadelphia exhibition currently showing at Einstein Hospital for its final time for this traveling exhibition. In this video, you hear from our Executive Director, Laura Madeleine. The exhibition highlights a small fraction of the gun violence victims who come through to Einstein Hospital and celebrates the lives lived of these victims of gun violence. View the full feature on CBS Philadelphia News here.

Posted on: 11/9/22

The Souls Shot Portrait Project breathes life back into people who were killed or wounded as a result of gun violence. The artist meets with the family to learn more about the deceased and then creates a work of art that captures the essence of that soul. KYW Newsradio's Shara Dae Howard and Justin Udo share more on the Artists' Block. View the news feature here.

Posted on: 9/22/22

“Harrisburg area families affected by gun violence may have a unique opportunity to memorialize a loved one”. - writes Maddie Gittens of The Burg News.

Maggie reached out to us to help spread our Call for Participants for the Greater PA area as we are now expanding to the Harrisburg, PA area. To read the full article, click here. In the article, you will also hear from our executive director, Laura Madeleine.

Posted on: 7/21/22

Jersey Arts, featured our organization in their news page here. In the article, they mention our 2021 NJ Chapter exhibition which was available to view at Artworks Trenton alongside another great exhibition called, The Potential Project. This exhibition, and ours both highlight the lives lived of those killed and affected by gun violence. The Potential Project uses art to acknowledge the stories and lives of those we have lost to violence, and to imagine our community healing.

To read the full article by Jersey Arts, click here.

Posted on: July 19, 2022

Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral hosted our 2021 Philadelphia portraits in June 2022. During the closing ceremony, they hosted a panel discussion at the cathedral for our exhibition. You can view the full discussion here.

It was an insightful and wonderful evening and we are very grateful to the great team at Cathedral Arts for putting together this event and video recording.

Posted on: July 14, 2022

CBS3 Philly News, highlights our immersive exhibition spread across three floors at City Hall’s ‘Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy’. The exhibition is on from April 23 to July 15, 2022. This multi-media exhibit showing Artists Honoring Victims of Gun Violence. Learn more about this exhibition here.

View the news story from CBS3 Philly here.

Posted on: June 6. 2022

PHL17’s Anchor/Producer of In Focus and Special Programs, Jennifer Lewis-Hall, featured an interview with our Executive Director and Curator, Laura Madeleine on our mission, our organization, and our story.

Posted on: May 2, 2022

Thank you to the team at KYW Newsradio for covering a press conference in our honor at the State Capitol on March 30, 2022. They captured the highlights from this press event.

You can watch the full press conference by clicking here.

Posted on: 4/5/2022

Our 2021-22 Philadelphia portraits were on display at the State Capitol, Harrisburg on March, 2022. On March 30, 2022, the State Capitol hosted press conference in honor of this exhibition and the souls lost to gun violence. The press event featured; Senator Art Haywood, Adam Garber, Executive Director of CeaseFirePA, our Executive Director - Laura Madeleine, more speakers and representatives, and participants from our project.

Click here to watch the full press conference (23:29 minutes long).

Click here to watch Senator Art Haywood’s remarks (4:46 minutes long).

Posted on: April 1, 2022

On March 30th, 2022, State Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery, Philadelphia) joined the Souls Shot Portrait Project at the state capitol building to highlight our exhibition featuring portraits of gun violence victims.

Thank you to the team at Fox43 news for this important feature.

Posted on: March 30, 2022

Our 2021-22 Philadelphia exhibition was hosted in the State Capitol, Harrisburg for March 2022. ABC27 News featured our story and exhibition. In this video, they speak with Maxayn Gooden, a mother of a victim of gun violence who’s son Jah’sun Ahad Patton, is featured in this exhibition. You can also read the written article story on the ABC27 News website, here.

Thank you to ABC27 for this great feature on our exhibition.

Posted on: March 30, 2022

Highlights from the premiere of the Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence exhibition held at the Gloucester Campus of Rowan College of South Jersey. This compelling exhibit features portraits celebrating survivors of gun violence and memorializing those whose lives it has claimed.

Thank you to RCSJ Today for featuring our organization and sharing this story of the souls lost due to gun violence.

Posted on: March 8, 2022

Thank you to Alfonso Bermudez of VB Visto Bueno Magazine for writing this insightful article on our current New Jersey Chapter exhibition which is showing at Rowan College of South Jersey - Cumberland Campus.

To read the full article both in Spanish & the English translation, Click Here.

For more information on our NJ Chapter 2021-22 exhibition, please see our Exhibition page here.

Posted on: February 11, 2022

NJ Indy, an independent coverage of New Jersey news, attended our 2021-22 NJ Chapter exhibition at Rowan College of South Jersey - Cumberland Campus, and wrote about their experience and the impact of our exhibition. Journalist Kyle Nardine, writes about our opening exhibition reception, they share quotes from participants from our exhibitions, and shares information on our organization and the work we do here at Souls Shot Portrait Project.

You can view their great article through their website here.

Posted on: February 4, 2022

Artist Meri Adelman describes what it was like to paint portraits of Darrell Singleton, a young victim of gun violence. She was one of 25 artists participating in our 2017 exhibition. An exhibit co-curated by artist Laura Madeleine and Rebecca Thornburgh to highlight the issue of gun violence. This recording was filmed in 2017 and produced by independent audio producer, Barbara Dandon.

Posted on: January 14, 2022

Watch this beautiful video of the impact of these artworks to the families of victims of gun violence and the artists who participate in our project. Thank you to Matteo Iadonisi of 6abc Action News for featuring our current 2021-22 Philadelphia exhibition through this great video.

To learn more about this exhibition that is currently available to view in person, please see our Schedule of Events page for the 2021-22 Philadelphia Exhibition.

You can also read this full article together with this video coverage through the 6abc News website here.

Posted on: December 31, 2021

Highlights from the opening of the Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence New Jersey Chapter 2021-22 exhibition at the Gloucester Campus of Rowan College of South Jersey. The compelling exhibit features portraits celebrating survivors of gun violence and memorializing those whose lives it has claimed. This exhibition is available to view in person. For more details, please visit our Schedule of Events page Here.

Posted on: December 20, 2021

Our 2020-21 New Jersey Chapter Exhibition is currently showing at Rowan College South Jersey. Courier-Post covers our exhibition and helps us honor the lives lost due to gun violence. In this article, you will learn more about the life of Kevin Miller, pictured in the portrait here, as well as a few more portraits featured in this exhibition. To read the full article, please click here.

To learn more about this traveling exhibition, please see our Schedule of Events page here.

Posted on: November 19, 2021

Our 2019 & 2020 exhibitions at Chestnut Hill College were part of “A Month of Nonviolence: Seeking to an End to Gun Violence” at The Institute for Forgiveness & Reconciliation for October, 2021. For the duration of this month, Chestnut Hill College held a series of events to highlight the Month of Nonviolence, including the organization, Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence who are mentioned on the video coverage by CBS3 Philly. Our portraits of victims of gun violence can be seen on display at the altar during this event.

Posted on: August 20, 2021

Fox29’s Reporter Dawn Timmeney shares our story and current exhibition on live news. In this video, you hear from our executive director Laura Madeleine & families of victims of gun violence, Lisa Harmon and Sonya Dixon.

Thank you to Fox29 Philly for sharing our story and mission on your channel. To view the recording, Click Here.

Posted on: August 12, 2021

NBC10 Philadelphia reporter, Sheila Watko speaks to those touched by the Souls Shot Portrait Project that teams artists with those mourning a loved one lost to gun violence in Philadelphia.

This recording features artists and families of those who have lost loved ones due to gun violence.

To watch the recording on NBC10 Philadelphia, click here

To watch the recording on YouTube, click here

Posted on: August 10, 2021

Flourtown resident Cherie Curtis holds a portrait of her niece, Jaleen, with Jaleen's daughter Skylah and husband F. Donte Smith. Donte Smith was a victim of gun violence and this portrait is currently on display at the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield as part of the 2020-21 exhibition.

To read this great article by the Chestnut Hill Local Press, click here.

Posted on: August 5, 2021

Reporter Brad Nau from CBS 3 Philadelphia shares our story and mission on the news.

Featured in this story, is our Executive Director Laura Madeline. She speaks about our organization and the impact that our portraits have had to the loved ones of those affected by gun violence. See the full video recording here (skip to time stamp 1:20 for our featured story), or you can view the edited version here.

Posted on: July 23, 2021

How a call for artists is another sign of Philadelphia’s soaring gun epidemic | Helen Ubiñas

Helen Ubinas, a writer for The Philly Inquirer, noticed our urgent ‘Call for Artists’ posts on our social media accounts asking artists to participate in creating portraits for more victims of gun violence. In this article, Helen interviews our Executive Director, Laura Madeline (pictured in the photo here on the left). Also featured in this article is one of our loyal artists, Ann Hartzell (pictured on the right in the photograph). To read this heart-rending article, click here.

If you are an artist and would like to Get Involved in our future exhibitions, please see our Get Involved page here.

Thank you to Helen Ubinas for this beautiful article.

Posted: June 6, 2021

FOX 29's Mike Greenidge features a story on our organization for Fox29 Live News. In this feature, you will hear from families and friends of victims of gun violence, and artists who have participated in our past exhibitions. It is a beautiful news feature on our project and strongly highlights our mission and our exhibitions.

Posted on: April 26, 2021

Reporter Steve Keeley of Fox29 Philadelphia news, featured our 2019-2020 exhibition at Logan Library on live news on March 11, 2021. This live feature was a part of the Good Day Philadelphia segment. It features our Executive Director, Laura Madeleine as she speaks about the power of art and memorializing the many lives lost due to gun violence in Philadelphia. Also in the news coverage, is Kimberly Kamara, who is the mother of Niam K. Johnson-Tate, a victim of gun violence, who’s portrait is featured in this exhibition. For more information about the 2019-2020 exhibit, please Click Here.

Posted on: March 11, 2021

Souls Shot Portrait Project, was featured live on Whyy’s "‘You Oughta Know' TV’ - which is a guide to people, places and events you might not know about in the Philadelphia region.

Their four minute segment on - Art Survives Death: Portraits Honor Victims of Gun Violence featured statements from our Executive director Laura Madeleine, artist Elisa Abeloff, & mothers of victims of gun violence, Lisa Harmon & Kimberly Kamara.

To learn more about PBS’ Whyy or ‘You Oughta Know’ or to watch the full episode that we were featured in, please click here. This news feature aired on March 5, 2021 at 7:30pm EST on ‘WHYY-TV12’

Posted on: March 10, 2021

Souls Shot Portrait Project was featured on NBC10 Philadelphia Live News. In the interview, reporter Sheila Watco speaks about our project and exhibitions. In the video we also hear from the Executive Director of Souls Shot Portrait Project, Laura Madeleine, and artist Elisa Abeloff.

Posted on: February 16, 2021

Beth AM Israel, our host for the 2020-2021 exhibition for the month of Jan/Feb 2021, hosted a virtual event to celebrate the opening if this exhibit at their space. They discussed how individuals heal from losing a loved one due to gun violence and how to repair the system that allows such unthinkable tragedies.

In this event, our Executive Director Laura Madeleine is a panelist, along with, family members of victims of gun violence and CeaseFirePA’s lead organizer - Max Milkman.

It was a wonderful event and we do hope you will take some time to view it.

Posted on: February 2, 2021

KYW NewsRadio’s Shara Dae Howard, interviews Laura Madeleine, our Executive Director, on our organization.

Click Here to read the full article featured by KYW 1060 News Radio.

Posted on: January 12, 2021

On January 2021, we hosted a virtual event to ‘Celebrate the Souls’ lost due to Gun Violence. We were joined by panelists including the executive directors of; CeaseFirePA, Philadelphia Obituary Project, Laura Madeline [Exec. Director for our organization] & Council Member Isaiah Thomas.

See YouTube video for more details on the event.

Posted on: January 11, 2021

6abc Action News Philadelphia featured our 2020-21 exhibition at Widener Hall at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. In the video, they interview Stephanie Jackson who is a mother of a victim of gun violence. Her daughter, Erica Elyse Hillyard is featured on our 2020-21 exhibit. They also speak with the artist who did the portrait of Erica, Garth Herrick.

The interview took place on: January 10, 2021

Posted on: January 11, 2021

Souls Shot Portrait Project were invited to participate in a podcast called Story Search from Special Collections at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Story Search from Special Collections is a podcast series exploring stories based on, inspired by, or connected to material artifacts.

We are very honored to have been given the chance to tell our story and our mission to the listeners of this amazing podcast. In the podcast, you will hear from artists, family members of victims of gun violence, community members involved with the project, last but not least, our founder and executive director, Laura Madeleine.

To listen to the podcast, click the button below.

Posted on: November 25, 2020

The Executive Director and Curator of Souls Shot Portrait Project, Laura Madeleine, is interviewed about the 2019-2020 Exhibition which was held at Logan Library in Philadelphia in November, 2018.

We teamed up with the incredible staff at Philadelphia Logan Library to continue to bring awareness to the gun violence epidemic . The results were these insightful interviews of various community members of Philadelphia who have been affected by Gun Violence. To view all of the interviews from Logan Library, please CLICK HERE TO VIEW INTERVIEW SERIES on our YouTube Channel.

Please click the logo below or CLICK HERE to view the beautiful blog post on this exhibition from the Logan Library in Philadelphia.

Posted on: November 3, 2020

Philadelphia-area blogger Stefan Roots recently visited the Souls Shot exhibition hosted at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church and posted about the experience on his blog “Chester Matters.” The exhibit, he writes, “recognizes the loss, trauma and grief in our wider community and ideally stimulates conversation that can move us to greater action in addressing the causes and impacts of gun violence.” Read more about his experiences and see photos from the event by clicking the link below.

Posted on: February 1, 2020

Laura Madeleine, curator of Souls Shot and Laura Murray, one of the participating artists, were featured the January 8, 2020 episode of Art Watch Radio, along with fellow artist and Carol Metzker. Art Watch Radio is a a program on WCHE Radio hosted by painter Lele Galer. The group discussed the history and importance of the Souls Shot project. Listen to the full discussion below.

Posted on: January 8, 2020

A documentary from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School discusses the issue of crime victims being denied compensation through the Pennsylvania Victim Compensation Assistance Program if they are suspected of contributing to their own death or injury. The families of many of the victims profiled in the Souls Shot portraits have been denied compensation from the State for their losses, making it difficult to fund funerals as well as psychological care for survivors.

Posted on: January 2, 2020

The Associated Press profiled a Souls Shot exhibition at the Willingboro Public Library in WIllingboro, New Jersey during the month of December, 2019. The showing was organized by the Willingboro Social Action Network, a group formed to combat gun violence which includes representatives from the NAACP Willingboro and Vicinity Branch, the Willingboro Community Development Corporation, the nonprofit Fighting 4 Youth, and local residents.

Posted on: December 6, 2019

The Philadelphia Inquirer covers the work of Souls Shot Portrait Project. The article was covered by writer, Aneri Patanni. The article shows how Souls Shot Portrait Project had begun, and how the exhibitions have continued to impact the lives of the families and friends of the victims lost due to gun violence.

Posted on: June 19, 2019

NBC10’s Matt DeLucia reports on how this project aims to send a message and give something back to families who lost a loved one. He interviews Curator and Director of Souls Shot Portrait Project, Laura Madeleine on her artwork for victim, Sharif Rasheed Williams, who was featured on our first exhibition. He also interviews artists, Melissa Joseph and Ann Hartzell. We learn about the Souls Shot Project and what the organization stands for.

CLICK HERE to view the video feature on the NBC10 Website

Posted on: November 14, 2018

Thirty original painted portraits of men, women, and children who died from or survived gun violence were debuted at an exhibit hosted at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill on Friday evening. The exhibit, Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence, was the second annual of the Souls Shot portrait project, a program founded to memorialize victims and raise awareness around the issue. Philadelphia Tribune Digital Reporter Samaria Bailey has the details…

Posted on: November 8, 2018

Spoken word artist and poet, Lindo Yes shares his beautiful words with us on our first annual Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition. If you have two and a half minutes, do watch this wonderful poetic expression that he showcased for our victims of gun violence. You can find more information on Lindo Yes by clicking HERE.

Posted on: November 8, 2018

Thirty original painted portraits of men, women, and children who died from or survived gun violence were debuted at an exhibit hosted at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill on Friday evening. The exhibit, Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence, was the second annual of the Souls Shot portrait project, a program founded to memorialize victims and raise awareness around the issue. Philadelphia Tribune Digital Reporter Samaria Bailey has the details.

Posted on: November 6, 2018

When it comes to victims of gun violence, each casualty has a story: people loved them, and no two are alike. Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence, a traveling exhibition based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and curated by Laura Madeleine, BFA ’76, validates these truths…

Posted on: August 16, 2018

The numbers representing American gun violence are beyond staggering. That shock doesn’t decrease locally. As of Dec. 3, according to the Philadelphia Police Department, there have been 294 victims of homicide in the city in 2017. On the surface, these are just numbers — horrifying numbers, but numbers nonetheless. Laura Madeleine wants to put a face to the issue…

Posted on: December 15, 2017

Partnering with the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Heeding God’s Call, a faith-based movement to prevent gun violence, sponsored the creation and showing of works of art dedicated to victims of gun violence.

Posted on: November 7, 2017