A Shared Eye: Art and Intergenerational Friendship at the Allen

If you happened to walk through the doors of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at 5 p.m. this Thursday evening, you might have encountered a rather unusual spectacle: A woman in a wheelchair being propelled at considerable speed by a student, two others trailing behind, all four engaged in what appeared to be a deeply consequential debate about Monet, Yoruba masquerades, biblical stories, and, tangentially, what they had eaten for lunch. There was no emphasis on hushed whispers of reverence and certainly no leisurely strolling. There was, however, a mission. Welcome to IntergenConnect! at the Allen. The idea began with Kendal at Oberlin resident Tina Graf, OC ’74, who had been thinking about what IntergenConnect!’s fall semester gatherings might look like. IntergenConnect! is an initiative that has been bringing together Oberlin College students and Kendal at Oberlin residents since 2024 with the aim of building friendships across generations.

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