Visual arts organization builds community for students with diverse backgrounds

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ren Watkins, a fourth-year art major in the College of Arts and Architecture, wasn’t always as active or social on campus as she is now. The School of Visual Arts Black, Indigenous and People of Color organization, or SoVA BIPOC, helped her find her community at Penn State.

“It’s a stepping-out-of-bubble moment,” Watkins, SoVA BIPOC’s president, said of the organization. “I’m a bit of a homebody, so SoVA BIPOC helped me step outside of my shell a bit more.”

The club began in the spring of 2022 as a way for minority students to come together and build a community within the School of Visual Arts. It received an official campus organization designation a year later.

Watkins was there from the start, always making time for SoVA BIPOC as she works toward a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and drawing and a minor in photography. She began as a general member in her sophomore year but took the role of vice president in 2023.

She said she feels the organization’s goals of forming a community and safe space for minority students to share their love of art has been successful so far.

“I can definitely say when everything comes together, we always end up having a good time,” she said. “Since we’re a primarily minority group, I think people feel more comfortable to talk because everyone else is also from a different background. It’s easier to build a connection.”

Margalo Guo, a sophomore studying art history and SoVA BIPOC’s treasurer, said she shares Watkins’ view about growing a community.

“The art world has been Eurocentric dominated for a long time, and now we’re seeing a lot more people of color in the art world,” Guo said. “I think it’s really exciting and important for there to be communities for our students of color or minority art students.”

While the organization was founded for minority students, everyone is welcome.

“We don’t push anyone away,” Watkins said. “The only requirement is that you love art.”

While the group does not organize weekly meetings, there are regular bonding events for the students to come together. Watkins said she’s made such good friends through these activities that they get together outside of SoVA BIPOC.

“It pretty quickly gave me a community I could work with and contribute to,” Guo said, recalling how she felt participating in her first SoVA BIPOC events.

The organization has hosted sip and paint parties, a sticker-making night where students helped to make products to sell at a fundraising event, and relaxing hangouts where they order pizza and help new members get to know each other.

Guo said these events were what interested her in taking on a leadership role. She held the secretary position as a first-year student and said she really wants to embody her executive position as treasurer this year no matter how much time it takes.

“It’s a lot, but it’s what I like to do. Some of these things don’t feel as much like tasks as they do opportunities,” she said.

Executive and general members are all involved in the production of multiple art exhibits and larger projects each semester. SoVA BIPOC’s premiere exhibition, “Let the Sun Talk,” was held in the spring of 2024 in Zoller Gallery.

This semester, students put in the hours for the “Broad Horizons” exhibition. Watkins said it was a fast-paced kickstart to showcases for this semester.

Students created new pieces or submitted previously finished work to be displayed in the Patterson Gallery from Oct. 7-11.

Watkins and Guo said SoVA BIPOC is partnering with Keri Mongelluzzo, an educator for academic engagement and access at the Palmer Museum of Art, for a major project in the spring.

Members will select a work of art created by and about minorities from a catalogue Mongelluzzo put together from the Palmer collection. They will then write a passage about why the piece resonates with them and create an artwork in response to the original piece.

All the art and writing will be displayed together in “The Global Majority” exhibition, which SoVA BIPOC is currently planning.

All of the exhibitions SoVA BIPOC produces are student-run. Members organize the show, create and collect the art, communicate with partners, and set up and tear down exhibits themselves.

“Art students don’t get enough practical real-world training about what it actually is to organize within your community,” Guo said.

She said the executive board is dedicated to learning the bureaucracy of the art world and helping other members learn these skills.

“Classes are focused on the art itself — not planning for a show, literally attaching things to the walls, how to work with others, working with whoever’s sponsoring your show, and wherever you’re getting funding,” she said.

Kumasi Barnett, a new Penn State SoVA faculty member and the adviser for SoVA BIPOC, said he is impressed with the members’ dedication.

“The students lead,” he said. “They do all the work, and they’re killing it.” 

As the adviser, Barnett said he is leaving management responsibilities in the students’ hands. He said he will be around for support and inspiration when necessary but is excited to see what they accomplish.

One lesson he does hope to instill in SoVA BIPOC members and all students in the School of Visual Arts is how useful their talents can be when they are passionate about their craft and work together.

“We discount what we’re really good at,” Barnett said. “I want them to understand that their skills are a valuable resource.”