Art History Students Selected to Present at Conference

Five art history students were selected to present posters at the College Art Association  (CAA) conference on February 14 in Chicago. The students were chosen from an applicant pool of hundreds and occupied five of the 35 total presenter slots. 

While in Chicago, students also met with alumni working in the art field, including Nicole Passerrotti ’05, conservator of Native American items at the Field Museum of Natural History. This opportunity was made possible through a collaboration between the Allen Memorial Art Museum, the Oberlin College art department, and the Office of the Dean College of Arts and Sciences.

The students shared what presenting at the College Art Association meant to them: 

Maya Rose Bater ’21: “I am so thankful to everyone that encouraged and worked with us to make our trip to CAA happen. Being able to present on the research I am passionate about, interact with scholars whose work I admire, and engage with my professors outside the classroom was an incredibly gratifying experience.”

Leina Fieleke ’22: ‘‘Attending CAA was a unique opportunity to present my research in a professional setting specifically for artists and art historians. I learned a lot about navigating large conferences as well as what kind of research is happening within the field of art history. It was exciting to see undergraduate students, graduate students, and well-established scholars all congregate within the same large building to talk about what each person was most excited about, which varied largely.’’

Lucy Haskell ’21: ‘‘CAA was an inspiration. It was wonderful to be with other Oberlin students, our mentors, and alums in a new environment and to learn by their example how well my Oberlin education has prepared me to join a welcoming and varied community of art historians and museum professionals."

Lucy Soth ’22: “I was very grateful for the opportunity to present at CAA and for all the work that Oberlin art history faculty did to make the experience as rewarding as possible. I was thrilled to be able to share my research with many people working in the field. My peers did excellent, fascinating work on their projects, and it was wonderful to learn from them.”

Luci Williams ’23: ‘‘The most rewarding parts of my CAA experience were the informal interactions I shared with the Oberlin art history department‘s faculty and alumni. Their genuine embrace and valuable counsel made a career in the varied and unpredictable art historical field feel more like a tangible reality.’’