On Saturday nights, you might find some students gathered to paint while watching rom-coms or sketching each other over bubble tea and snacks.
The 5C Artists’ Coalition (ArtCo) has been hosting weekly Saturday evening events where students can come together to make art in community. Recent programming has included three “Romcom & Paint” nights, “Blind Speed Dating” with contour drawing and a “Women’s Day Soirée” for International Women’s Day.
ArtCo’s mission is to “provide high-quality studio space, opportunities, supplies and resources where anyone can come together in community and engage with artmaking,” according to its website. “Above all, we seek to cultivate an environment of safety, belonging and care.”
Though the club has been around for several years — having been founded by Jenny Park PO ’22 — it started off close-knit and small, only becoming much more active this past year. Its most popular events have been attended by 50-60 students, according to club leaders.
The current executive board members of the club, including co-presidents Meghna Pamula CMC ’25 and Vanessa Ho PO ’25, aim to make it a significant community space for students who want to explore art in a collaborative and creative environment.
Pamula described the club as “a casual and welcoming space where creatives can gather.”
Events Coordinator Maggie Zhang PO ’26 emphasized ArtCo as a place where students can make connections over art that carry over beyond the club and art-making.
“We hope to cultivate spaces with more dialogue between artists on campus,” Zhang said. “Not even dialogue necessarily about art, but just dialogue from being in community.”
Part of the strong community that ArtCo has built undoubtedly comes from the bond between the board members.
“It’s just an amazing, raw and all-around caring vibe to run this art coalition with them,” Vice President Jessie Zhang PO ’26 said about working with her fellow board members.
The executive board members are working on achieving expansive goals for the upcoming year, planning field trips, artists’ talks, workshops and weekly open studios. Other long-term projects include the launch of a 5C Art Magazine dedicated exclusively to student artwork and a biannual gallery show to share club members’ work with the wider Claremont community.
The leaders hope to “make the club truly more of an artist’s coalition for students on the 5Cs,” as Maggie Zhang explained.
“There is no surveillance or excessive professionalism — only care and cooperation.”
However, there are some setbacks the organization is facing, namely, space and funding. The club usually meets in the Smith Campus Center at Pomona but has no permanent location. The executive board members hope to obtain a permanent meeting space for the club and a larger budget in the near future.
ArtCo seems to be thriving despite its current constraints, with well-attended events, enthusiastic attendees and a healthy social media presence.
“The ArtCo ‘Clueless and Paint’ night gave me and my friend something to do that was both creative and engaging,” said member Eliza Levy PZ ’26. “And I talked to people I would never have met before.”
A key part of ArtCo’s presence on campus is in making art more accessible for students. By providing students with space, creative opportunities and materials, the organization allows those who might not be art majors or have a strong background in art to create together in a supportive environment.
Of this collective spirit, Jessie Zhang said, “There is no surveillance or excessive professionalism — only care and cooperation.”
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