Oxford inter-collegiate Christian Union has run into trouble over the photo used for its ‘Everything in Colour’ series of talks. The photo depicted the Holi Festival, which is also known as the festival of colours or the festival of love.
Holi is of religious significance to Hindus and is celebrated for 16 days at the end of winter. Much like the Jewish New Year, it is a time to address past errors and debts and start anew with those in their life.
Some students who noticed felt that the Christian Union was appropriating the festival, despite its deep religious and cultural significance, just for its aesthetic aspect. The image choice received discussion on the Facebook race discussion forum Race Matters.
Shortly after this was brought to their attention, the Christian Union changed the event image and the picture in its other media.
When contacted, the group told Cherwell, “It was brought to our attention on Monday evening that the photo on our posters and social media branding is a picture of the Holi Festival in London. We did not design the posters ourselves, but asked a design company to create posters with colourful backgrounds. Foolishly, we didn’t think to check what the photo was of. We know this was wrong and ignorant, and we apologise for the insensitive and misguided use of imagery. In particular, we apologise to any Hindu people who have been offended by our use of the picture.
“We have individually apologised to those who have been in contact with us about the mistake. We also immediately re-branded our media when we discovered our error – our Facebook pages, Instagram and event website no longer use the image.”
A St John’s first year in the Christian Union told Cherwell, “I think it would be a real shame to let what is essentially an accident mar coverage of what has been an impressive logistical achievement by the CU. I’m sure the design was done with the best of intentions.”
