Student art exhibit builds community

The dynamic artwork on display at 408 Panama melds media and styles to explore themes of identity, race, immigration, and home.

Students applauding in reaction to a speaker at the art opening

The Stanford Digital Education team and Center for Teaching and Learning hosted their inaugural student art opening on Wednesday, May 10, bringing in more than 50 attendees to the first-floor community space of 408 Panama. The event featured six Stanford student artists, each with their own powerful vision and stories.

The students' art will be on display until fall 2023 in 408 Panama, which is accessible to the Stanford community Monday through Thursday (9 a.m. to noon; 1 to 5 p.m.) and Friday (9 a.m. to noon; 1 to 4 p.m.).

Featured artists

Hannah Cha standing in a Main Quad walkway

Hannah Cha is a second-year from Los Angeles majoring in Symbolic Systems and planning to double minor in CCSRE and Art Practice. In her work, she is interested in studying the intersection of technology, art, and activism.

Through her work, she hopes to empower the marginalized and uplift the underseen and underrepresented. In her studies, she is interested in studying and mitigating algorithmic racism, and the way that technology can recreate racial hierarchies.
Contact: hcha417@stanford.edu

A black and white drawing of a manor against a hill, doubled by a reflection in a lake

Krain Chen’s work often dwells on themes of immigration, erasure, “untouched” landscapes, and her Chinese-Canadian background. She had to transform herself to fit into a new land, but also fell in love with that land itself, so she makes art both as catharsis and celebration.
Contact: krainc@stanford.edu

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Gloria Chikaonda is a self-taught artist who uses mixed methods including oil pastel, collage, acrylic and oil paint to explore the themes of political memory and gender in African politics. Chikaonda is a 3rd year JSD (doctoral law studies) candidate at Stanford Law School with formal legal training from South Africa.
Contact: gloriach@stanford.edu

Area Faruk smiling with her painting behind her

Arwa Faruk is a Bangladeshi-American sophomore from Albuquerque, New Mexico studying Human Biology and Art Practice. Painting from life and in the studio, her work intersects expression and inquiry, serving as her way of examining and interfacing with the world.

Drawing inspiration from styles of social realism, naturalism, and the visual language of Bengal, Arwa seeks to reflect upon her world and the people around her. She explores themes of self-reflection, temporality, displacement, and home.
Contact: afaruk@stanford.edu

Ximena Sanchez Martinez smiling with butterfly artwork behind her

Ximena Sanchez Martinez (she/her) is a senior studying Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with a concentration in Health and Wellness, and a minor in Biology.

She is a multidisciplinary artist and works mostly with collages, painting, and photography. Ximena’s work explores her identity and journey as a first-generation student in higher education. Her passions in immigrants' rights, access to higher education, medicine, and storytelling influence her projects. Her current work focuses on spotlighting the stories of immigrants and depicting the obstacles DREAMers face when pursuing higher education.
Contact: xime@stanford.edu

L. Song Wu smiling next to her painting of a woman and child

L. Song Wu is a figurative painter originally hailing from Florida but now living and working in Stanford, California. She is currently a junior at Stanford studying art and engineering.

Her artwork in this exhibition centers around her experiences in suburbia. Her work has been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, and Berlin.
Contact: lsongwu@stanford.edu