Projects

ART WITH BUTTS PROJECT

Overview:

We are raising awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco by collecting cigarette butts contaminating our street and creating an art piece.

Rationale:

Tobacco consumption is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the US and worldwide. We feel that people do not grasp the extent to which exposure to tobacco is harmful. Through art, we are exploring an innovative way to convey this message and engage people.

Collection of cigarette butts:

Cigarette butts contaminate our streets, are toxic and costly to dispose. We periodically organize events to involve volunteers who collect cigarette butts from various areas. Our last event on South Beach was very successful, and you would be surprised how many cigarette butts are left behind on beaches that are routinely cleaned!

Making of the art piece:

The art piece that we envision is a dynamic art piece that grows as we collect more cigarette butts. The evolution of the art piece represents the growing involvement of the community and the increased awareness about this important issue. We are looking for artists who are willing to contribute and are inspired by this project. This year we organized our first art exhibit "Smoke Out". Some of the art pieces presented in this exhibit where made out of recylced cygarette butts.  This exhibit spent the summer at Bailey Hall at Broward College, is was then on  display at the Louis Memorial Calder Library in the Miami Medical Center from Oct 13th until Nov 25th 2016 and lastly at the Shalala Student Center in the University of Miami Campus from April 18th until May 13th 2017. 

Changing the landscape:

We are changing the traditional tobacco cessation campaign concept that stigmatizes smokers by creating an inspirational focus towards health and well-being.

Check out this article in the Miami Herald about our participation in one of the cleanup events

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/sur-de-la-florida/article43627323.html

Cigarette Butt Collection Event March 2016

March 19th, 2016: Cigarette butt collection event on South Beach. more than 50 volunteers participated and helped collect cigarette butts which were left behind. We partnered with volunteercleanup.org to recruit participants. It was a very successful event, and we collected over 1000 cigarette butts!