Spotlight: Art Against Racism
/
Student Spotlight
Do you enjoy comedy, poetry, or website design? Are you interested in contributing to arts initiatives in Princeton? We need your help!
At Princeton Arts Alumni, we believe the arts are a force for positive change. This summer, a new generation of student advocates are proving this vision through their action. Working with the organization Arts Against Racism, founded by Rhinold Ponder '81, undergraduates Mira Ho-Chen‘26, Amaya Taylor ‘28, and Camila Villavizar ‘28 are using their creative talents to build a more equitable world.
In this Student Spotlight, you’ll hear directly from these three arts advocates about their backgrounds and ongoing work in spoken, visual, and comedic arts. Their projects demonstrate the vibrant impact of our community, a network built on mutual support between alumni and students.
We invite you to contribute to this legacy. If you are an alum interested in supporting these students’ work, please reach out to them directly and engage with their ongoing projects! Your support for Princeton Arts Alumni directly helps us continue to champion student initiatives like these and connect the next generation of arts leaders with our alumni network.
By Princeton Arts Alumni
Art Against Racism
Submitted by: Mira Ho-Chen‘26, Amaya Taylor ‘28, and Camila Villavizar ‘28
Founded in 2019 by Rhinold Ponder ‘81, Art Against Racism is an arts nonprofit committed to promoting social justice, inclusion, and equity by fostering a community of bold creatives dedicated to anti-racist social change. Art Against Racism has hosted a variety of exhibitions, including a 2020 virtual exhibit titled Memorial. Monument. Movement, which was curated in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Art Against Racism has routinely partnered with the Princeton RISE (Recognizing Inequities and Standing for Equality) Fellowship Program to sponsor select undergraduates in a meaningful internship focused on civic engagement and social justice. This year, Rhinold hosts three student interns: Mira Ho-Chen‘26, Amaya Taylor ‘28, and Camila Villavizar ‘28.
In times of crisis, creatives are faced with the question: How can art be used for social justice? Meaningful internships in the arts section facilitate hands-on exploration of creative work that engages with social justice initiatives. With Art Against Racism, Mira, Amaya, and Camila have designed individual projects to use art as a means for storytelling, spotlighting underrepresented groups, and fostering necessary dialogue.
Amaya Taylor ‘28: Connecting Visual and Spoken Art
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Amaya Taylor comes to Princeton as an aspiring lawyer or journalist with an interest in social justice work through a creative and innovative lens. She plans to major in the School of Public and International Affairs, with a minor in either English or Journalism. She loves reading, writing, theater, and graphic design. As Princeton exposes her to a myriad of diverse global perspectives, Amaya hopes to channel her creative and expository writing skills to incite social and political change. On Princeton’s campus, she is involved with various student publications, including The Daily Princetonian, The Nassau Weekly, and figments literary magazine. She has been involved with Vote100, a nonpartisan campaign that aims to ensure that 100% of the Princeton student body expresses their right to vote in every eligible election. She recently joined The Coffee Club’s illustrious group of baristas and loves connecting with Princeton students and alumni over caffeinated beverages.
This summer, Maya plans to curate a virtual multimedia exhibition that pairs visual artwork with written poetry. She wants to connect poets with artists, portraying a single message in multiple forms. Her goal is to foster productive dialogue regarding social injustice, providing a transformative experience for the audience. She is eager to connect with artists, writers, poets, and creatives of any medium interested in contributing artwork or poetry for the exhibition. She can be reached at amayataylor@princeton.edu.
Mira Ho-Chen ‘26: Comedy in Service of Social Justice
Mira is an African American Studies major from Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an aspiring comedy writer, she believes that she must critically understand how the world operates in order to write satire, and studying African American Studies has allowed her to challenge dominant, taken-for-granted power structures more effectively. She’s also interested in law, having written her JP on narratives of Asian American history present in SFFA v. Harvard. On campus, Mira is the head writer for The Princeton Triangle Club, the creative director for Women Aren’t Funny, and a member of the Taiwanese American Students Association.
This summer, Mira is organizing a comedy and social justice conference tentatively titled Comedy in Crisis. She believes that in this era of censorship and state repression, satire remains one of the most powerful tools for dissent. Comedy in Crisis is a one-or two-day conference centered on political satire as a mechanism to speak truth to power and humor as a way for marginalized people to resist domination. The conference will feature comedians, satirists, and scholars who use or study humor in the pursuit of social justice. It will blend academic rigor with live performances and invite participants to consider comedy not just as entertainment, but as a vehicle to draw attention to unequal conditions and build a meaningful community. If there are any comics interested in this project, please reach out to her at mirahochen@princeton.edu!
Camila Villavizar ‘28: Storytelling as Community Outreach
Camila Villavizar is a transfer and rising sophomore from Trenton, New Jersey. She immigrated from Peru and attended Mercer County Community College for two years, earning her associate's degree in Liberal Arts. She was part of the first cohort of the Transfer Scholars Initiative by EBCAO, whose mission is to offer two accredited courses to community college students in New Jersey as well as help them during the transfer process to 4-year colleges. Camila is interested in the departments of Sociology and Comparative Literature and intends to minor in Creative Writing.
Deeply passionate about how systems of power intersect with our modes of storytelling, Camila’s final essay from her writing seminar was part of the Mary George Conference, in which writing seminar professors nominate students to present their findings to the Princeton community. Camila has also written short stories about the importance of imagining radically sustainable futures for the Princeton issue of My Climate Story magazine, led by visiting faculty member Dr Bethany Wiggin. This summer, she was part of the Made in Greece program, where she traveled with six other first-year SIFP students to learn more about the history of contemporary Greece. She also traveled to the Santa Susana Project led by faculty member Dr. Emma Ljung to excavate the Santa Susana Roman village. This summer, Camila was tasked to reimagine the brand of Arts Against Racism as well as its founder, Rhinold Ponder ’81. As an aspiring author, her goal for this summer is to improve her storytelling abilities through this organization and do justice to the stories she was tasked to tell. She also wishes to do more outreach and uplift the artistry of Black artists, especially those from Princeton and nearby communities. She can be reached at cv7727@princeton.edu.