Oberlin College is known as an institution that encourages and enables leaders and risk-takers to make a change. Indeed, Oberlin is unique in its ability to uphold students to step forward and take charge. That is exactly what junior Hannah Weinberg and senior Sarah Meyer had in mind when they thought of organizing this year’s People of Color Arts Festival.
The POC Arts Festival is a Third World House program intended to promote, support and uplift artists of various ethnic backgrounds, as well as their art works. The show opened on Friday Dec. 3 and was displayed in Third World House Library through Dec. 5.
Out of a need to increase and promote diversity and cultural awareness among the Oberlin community, both Meyer and Weinberg decided to facilitate a venue through which artists of color at the College can come together and support each other. “As an artist of color and art history major who has worked in the art world, I think that there should be more support for artists like myself,” Weinberg said. “There needs to be an outlet for artists of color.”

Many artists of color enrolled in the art department at Oberlin expressed their feelings on being a minority within the Program. “This is a great idea. The art world is really homogeneous and restrictive. There is very little diversity in terms of race, and ethnicity — so to have a space that is totally ours is very refreshing!” senior and studio art major Naima Bond said.
The artists that were involved in the show were extremely happy to share their works and experiences with the Oberlin community. “The regular aesthetic of art is very rigid, and much of the art world is dominated and regulated on a western standard,” sophomore artist Vida Vazquez said. “So it is necessary for us to be able to have a space where we can present our art and its diverse aesthetic.”
Weinberg explained that both Meyer and she hope to see a continuation of this program at least every semester. In fact, Weinberg revealed that there has already been interest in organizing another show next semester. The show certainly had an impact on the student community. “It was definitely an amazing exhibit— something that everyone should go see. The only reservation that I have is it being in Third World,” sophomore Alex Sirkin said. “The fact that it was in Third World leads to less exposure amongst the people who definitely need to see it.”
A few students explained that Third World was a little inconvenient because of its non-centralized location on campus, while some felt that the show would have a greater impact in reaching a maximum number of participants if it was moved to the art building.
The POC Arts Festival offered a delightful experience and in-depth look into the talent of many of Oberlin’s finest artists. It was a chance for artists of color to “express themselves and to resist the constant pressures many of them are exposed to in the art world. It enabled them to not only share their talent and diversity with the greater Oberlin community, but to also take pride in their work.