Club Spotlight: Art history club
I always like to say that art history is like the picture book version of regular history—rather than looking at drabby old texts, we get to look at amazing sculptures and paintings that bring history to life.
When I was a freshman, I joined the art history club here at Geneseo. Unfortunately, that was the semester we went home because of COVID-19, and since the e-board was mostly juniors and seniors, the club fizzled out. I didn't really get to experience the club, so I decided to reactivate it this semester. As someone who is very passionate about the subject, I wanted to create a space where students of all knowledge levels could meet up and foster a community about how amazing art history can be.
At the club expo a few weeks ago, a lot of people told me they were unsure of signing up because they did not know anything about art history. However, people don’t need to know a lot about art history to join, because we are creating a space that both encourages learning and is safe for people to learn within.
One of the main principles of the club is that we are dedicated to sharing a diverse range of sources. It is too often that the only art discussed and shown is European art. To combat this inequality, the art history club is dedicated to learning about and discussing a diverse range of artworks from all over the world.
While the overall goal of this club is to learn about art history, we plan to do it in a fun way! We have game nights, trivia nights, crafts, movies, and PowerPoint presentations where each member can give a presentation on whatever topic in art history they want. We are designing our meetings by asking our members what they want to do and see—we want everyone to feel included and learn about things they are actually interested in.
We are also planning opportunities for service and volunteer work, such as collecting art supplies for kids and doing art therapy with children. In the future, we hope to plan trips to local art museums in Rochester and the surrounding areas so we can see the art we are discussing in real life!
Art history club meets on Mondays in Bailey 246 at 7 p.m. Our Instagram is @arthistoryclub_geneseo, and our email is geneseoarthistoryclub@gmail.com. If you have any questions, DM us on Instagram or email us with anything you want to know, or any suggestions you may have. There is no experience necessary to join the club, and we encourage anyone who is interested to stop by for a fun, welcoming experience!