Over Winter Term, Rind, a new student-run, community-based art collective, held its first show. Hoping to revitalize a community of artists on-campus, the event offered participants an exciting opportunity to connect with fellow artists and showcase their own work in an informal, intimate setting.

Rind is the brainchild of College fourth-year Milo Hume, who hopes the collective will achieve a future as a leaderless community. Hume was originally inspired by Los Angeles-based nun Corita Kent, who opened the doors of an abandoned warehouse to local artists in search of a community where they could connect while sharing their work.

Since his first year at Oberlin, Hume believes he has seen a shift in the College’s priorities; where the College used to highlight the student body’s thriving arts community, he believes it now emphasizes — both on social media and financially — the Athletics program.

“I started thinking about how we don’t really have an artist community here at Oberlin anymore,” Hume said. “Since COVID, they’ve all kind of been deflated.”

College Fourth-year artist Anna Scott, who showcased their work at Rind’s first event, shared that Rind — which was hosted in Hume’s on-campus house — was able to provide a casual and fun space for artists to appreciate each other’s work.

“I think Rind has the potential to be super special since it is definitely a more intimate approach to sharing and talking about work,” Scott said. “It’s kind of like a traditional gallery show and a dance party, artists showcasing their musical or performance-re- lated talents in alternative spaces.”

While Rind is leaderless, Hume and Scott offered similar visions for the collective. Both artists emphasized the importance of creating a welcoming environment where artists and observers alike can be themselves.

“I would love for it to be an ever-evolving, ever-present organization at Oberlin that just makes itself available to students,” Hume said.

Since many of the artists who displayed work in the first Rind show are graduating this spring, Hume wants to get younger students involved. In doing so, he hopes to establish Rind as a campus mainstay. Hume wants shows to become regular social events.

“We want everyone to come,” Hume said. “I would love for a [first-year] to say, ‘Oh I heard there’s a Rind show on North Cedar tonight. Let’s stop by,’ — that kind of thing.”

Rind hopes to expand its bandwidth to include students who are not necessarily enrolled in Studio Art courses at the College. Hume and Scott expressed interest in involving everyone from student chefs to performance artists to DJs, a reflection of Rind’s goal to provide a space for creatives of all kinds.