In honor of Black History Month, student artists from across the University gathered together to display their work and their pride.
The Jacob Lawrence Student Arts Exhibition, located in the glass display cases on the 100-level of Frist Campus Center, opened last week; an official opening celebration took place on Monday. Deborah Willis, a photographer and art historian, gave opening remarks at the event, and the artists spoke about their work.
The display, which will stay up until the end of the month, includes a variety of art forms, from paintings and wire sculptures to photographs and student videos.
The exhibition even includes poetry, such as "Mein Traum," written by Chris Chaney '07 in his first language, German.
The uniting theme between these diverse forms of art is the African Diaspora, which, according to project coordinator Crystel Harris '06, is the theme of the month.
"We collected a broad range of artwork," she said.
Harris herself exhibited a vivid painting entitled "Ghana" and a collection of photographs.
According to Harris, the goal of the exhibition is to reflect the mission of Black History Month. "We are looking to focus on black people who have had a positive influence on the world," she said. "Many people use Black History Month to focus on the struggles and hardships of the people. But it is important not to forget the good things and great leaders that have emerged."
Harris said the exhibition provided black students with a voice on campus.
"Art gives us another way to look at things, and each person brings a different type of view," she said.
"The art exhibit was a great way to educate and enrich the Princeton Community as well as give young African American artists an opportunity to showcase their work," Gabrielle Ibanez-Vazquez '04 said.
Ibanez-Vazquez submitted her ceramic model of a house with natives playing instruments and singing to the exhibition.

A rendering of the water goddess Iemanja by Avril David '05 and done in oil pastel, captures the spirit of Afro-Brazilian religious culture in bright colors.
According to David, on New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro, those celebrating throw flowers and perfume to the sea for the goddess and float small boats with symbolic colors: green for success, red for love and yellow for happiness. David's painting is of the goddess in the sea, receiving wishes for the new year.
Other highlights of the exhibit include a self-portrait by Temitago Ogunbiyi '06 and a series of ceramic bowls she created, in addition to "African Rose," a painting by Ayana Harry '05.
In addition to educating people and providing a creative medium for communication, Harris pointed out that the exhibition, if nothing else, allowed artists of all types to show off their work.
The exhibition's simple style places emphasis on the artwork rather than artist or gallery. With approximately 24 pieces of art, the display is small and intimate. Harris feels that the limited number of pieces submitted might be due to other exhibitions on campus.
"We are competing for artwork with a simultaneous display in 185 Nassau," she said.
Competition or not, the exhibition drew a variety of participants, many who, to Harris' surprise, had never taken an art class before and others who were practiced artists.
Rachel Lyon '05, who created two relief sculptures of female torsos out of wire mesh, was surprised that Harris was willing to display her work—she is not African-American.
"But it was a really nice gesture and I'm glad that they're using this month as an opportunity to showcase student work that might not otherwise be seen by the community," Lyon said.
According to a university press release, the exhibition was named in honor of Jacob Lawrence, whose series "Migration of the American Negro," became the first work by a black artist to appear in the Museum of Modern Art.
The student videos that were part of the gallery opening, they will be displayed on Feb. 23 at 5:00 on the large screen TV in Frist Campus Center.