A soccer coach, exposure to crises in distant lands, and love of art were unique forces that converged to bring St. Mary’s Academy juniors Clare Obradovich and Sarah Dasso together to organize Art to Make a Difference, a week-long art exhibit that’s part of Genocide Awareness Week: A Call to Conscience, March 13-19, in Portland, Oregon. Inspired by the atrocities and pain of genocide or the hope for healing and forgiveness, the art work will be displayed during the week at Chit Chat Café, 1907 SW Sixth Avenue, Noah’s Bagels, 3535 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, and the PSU Coffee People at 603 SW Jackson, Suite 116.

Obradovich and Dasso came upon this monumental project unwittingly in December, when their soccer club coach, Sarah Stark, told them about an upcoming Genocide Awareness Week she was helping to arrange. Stark asked the two budding art students if they would help organize an art show as part of the week. Approximately 400 hours of labor later, the two students are on the eve of presenting a show including 26 artists – students and adults alike.

"Luckily, Clare and Sarah had no idea what they were getting into when they agreed to this project," says St. Mary’s Fine Arts Department Chair Kathy Mitchell, with a smile. "I was personally surprised that they followed up on their idea and made this exhibit happen. This was an enormous undertaking and I’m very proud of the collaborative work of these two young women."

After talking with Stark, Obradovich and Dasso began researching genocide and became overwhelmed at the atrocities that have taken place around the world in the past and present. "The numbers are astounding," says Dasso, "and with my research, I became more and more aware of the human rights abuses happening outside of my ‘world’ as a student here in Portland."

The two collaborated on three acrylic pieces that they created based on images they saw on the Genocide Awareness Week: A Call to Conscience website, www.genocideawareness.net. "It’s unusual for artists to paint together," says Mitchell. But Obradovich felt the collaborative work helped her as an artist. "I felt my painting became more complete and I could impart more of myself by working with Sarah," she said.

Both girls felt connected to the feminine burden of genocide and are happy to have had an outlet to feel like they could help raise awareness. "The affect of genocide is amazingly destructive on women," says Dasso. "Being students at an all-female school has helped raise our awareness of the feminine side of this ongoing tragedy."

Genocide Awareness Week: A Call to Conscience is Portland’s first event of its kind and an entirely grassroots effort. All events during the week are free and open to the public, include communities in several locations, offer a variety of means for individuals to participate, and strive to reach beyond political, religious, racial, and geographical lines.

Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.