By Angelica Martinez
After several years of inactivity, the Cameron University Art Guild returned this fall to strengthen campus creativity and connect with the Lawton-Fort Sill community.
The guild supports artistic pursuits, promotes art appreciation and fosters an inclusive environment for students. Membership extends beyond art majors; students from any discipline can attend events, join the organization and even hold leadership positions.
Leaders are partnering with the Music Department to host art displays during choir concerts, giving audiences a chance to view and purchase student work.
Art Guild President April Luikart encourages students to share their creativity in any form.
“If you make something amazing and you want people to see it, when we have a pop-up show, put it in,” Luikart said. “It doesn’t have to be on a flat piece of paper. It could be 3D; maybe you sculpted it. It could be digital art. We provide those opportunities.”
Luikart also emphasized that the guild helps student artists build confidence.
“Sometimes people feel shy about sharing their work, but this group is meant to be supportive,” she said. “Whether you’re painting, sculpting or just trying something new for the first time, we want you to know this is a safe space to take risks and grow.”
The guild takes a 20 percent commission from art sales to fund future activities, but Luikart described it as an investment back into students.
“That money doesn’t just disappear,” she said. “Every dollar goes right back into more supplies, more events and more opportunities for students to showcase what they love doing.”
The guild recently hosted its first campus event, where students followed an instructor and painted a ghost in a forest with their peers. Art Guild members paid $7 to participate, while non-members paid $12. All profits went directly into supporting future Art Guild activities and events.
Junior art major Daijah Watson-Kyser joined to expand her creative horizons and connect with other artists.
“The guild helps broaden my creative outlook, and I just want to see everyone’s art,” Watson-Kyser said. “It’s easy to get stuck in your own viewpoint, but connecting with other student artists pulls you out of that.”
Watson-Kyser added that she values the variety of perspectives the guild brings together.
“The best part is hearing ideas from people who think differently than you do,” she said. “When someone shows you a technique or even just a sketch that you would have never thought of, it pushes you to grow. That’s what makes this guild so important.”
The next event open to all students is a printmaking workshop, “Kitchen Lithography,” scheduled for October. The official date will be announced soon. The guild is also planning an equine drawing workshop in collaboration with Open Arms Behavioral Health, which will be open exclusively to official Art Guild members.
With ambitious plans and a renewed sense of purpose, the Art Guild invites Cameron students to join in building a lasting space for creativity, collaboration and community.
To get involved, follow the Cameron Art Guild Facebook page, join the official Discord server, or email al079105@cameron.edu.