Skip to main content

About

Welcome to “Images of a Beloved Community,” an exhibition of works created by students from the Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program as part of our mission course, Honors Colloquium, in Spring 2022.

In the course, we explored how images have been used to depict communities and their values in different places and time periods, and challenged ourselves to consider how some groups can feel excluded from common depictions of or discourse around community. With that context, we discussed how Rutgers already offers a beloved community and what we can do to make it even stronger. Working in groups, students then created images that display what makes Rutgers and the Honors Program a beloved community for them.

This project challenged students to articulate their appreciation of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and to connect with institutional values and goals. It also empowered them to share their views of our beloved community in ways that blend personal and scholarly perspectives. This exhibition invites members of the university community to see how students experience the rich tapestry of Rutgers.

The physical works will be on display in the Rutgers Art Library from April through August 2022.

This project was supported by a grant from the Committee to Advance our Common Purposes’ Beloved Community Initiative.

The Honors Colloquium Facilitators guided the students through this project: Amanda Ackerman, A. Musu Davis, Mahasti Hashemi, Charles Keeton, Jennifer Kim-Lee, Kathleen Sadowsky, Cynthia Sanchez Gomez, and Mary Jo Zachary. We thank Celina Deflorimonte for administrative support.

We thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to the course and project:

  • Jenevieve DeLosSantos (Department of Art History)
  • Noa Deocampo (SAS Honors Program, Class of 2023)
  • Zeynep Gursel (Department of Anthropology)
  • Donna Gustafson (Zimmerli Art Museum)
  • Megan Lotts (Art Library)
  • Andres Zervigón (Department of Art History)
  • coLAB Arts
    • John Keller
    • Dan Swern
  • Windows of Understanding
    • Cassandra Oliveras-Moreno
    • Tracey O’Reggio
    • Jennifer Sevilla

 

About the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Honors Program

The Rutgers–New Brunswick SAS Honors Program serves students in the School of Arts and Sciences and Rutgers Business School. We encourage creative, talented, and motivated students to take advantage of all that Rutgers has to offer, while fostering a strong sense of community and leadership among our Honors Scholars. We offer a variety of opportunities on each campus of Rutgers University–New Brunswick, and a wide range of cultural, social, and co-curricular activities. Learn more online at sashonors.rutgers.edu.

 

About the Rutgers Art Library

The Rutgers Art Library, located on Rutgers University–New Brunswick’s College Avenue Campus, was established in 1966 and supports research and teaching in art & design, art history, photography, architecture, and landscape architecture. It holds over 90,000 volumes and provides access to a host of print and electronic journals related to the arts.  It serves as a venue for events and exhibitions with a particular emphasis on Rutgers’s students, faculty, and local artists.  Visit the Art Library online at libraries.rutgers.edu/art.

 

About the Committee to Advance our Common Purposes

The Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes (CACP) is a university-wide committee founded in 1987. Formerly housed in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Committee moved to the University Equity and Inclusion Office in 2020. Dr. Denise Rodgers, the Vice-Chancellor for Inter-professional Programs, RBHS, serves as chair. The Beloved Community Initiative aims to engage a large, diverse segment of the Rutgers community in a broad-based, creative process that aims to define what it means to be a beloved community at Rutgers. Learn more online at diversity.rutgers.edu/cacp.