The architectural response to the concept of community has always been much broader than shelter. But, as we’ve learned to live with each other lately in new ways at the intersection of political upheaval and a post-pandemic malaise, can architecture adequately respond? This is a talk about “intentional communities” and why the choices we make in living together can enrich the values of the communities we choose. Via Zoom, registration required.
This semester’s festival format will be adjusted for virtual presentation and will feature five-minute plays. As always, the plays are written, directed, and acted by Wheaton students.
Renowned musicologist Matthew Morrison discusses his recent research, which historicizes the rise of American popular music, performance, and race in the nineteenth century. His talk centers on Blacksound, which Morrison uses as a foil to demonstrate how popular entertainment, culture, and identity have been shaped by the legacy of blackface minstrelsy in and beyond the United States.
Sumell, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and activist, will share her work on interrogating the abuses of the American criminal justice system. Sumell will talk about her ongoing public art project, Solitary Gardens, created to protest solitary confinement and consider alternative land use. Join us to imagine a landscape without prisons as we prepare to bring a Solitary Garden to Wheaton.
The world knows Stacey Abrams as a political leader, founder of the nonprofit Fair Fight Action, and New York Times bestselling author. Ms. Abrams’ tireless commitment to promote nonviolent change via the ballot box recently earned her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Lesser known is her creative work as an award-winning author (often using the name of her alter-ego, Selena Montgomery) of eight romantic suspense novels and several non-fiction works. Following the presentation of the Otis Social Justice Award, Abrams will join Artist-in-Residence Joe Wilson, Jr. to have a conversation about the powerful and transformative roles storytellers hold in our society, and how her work as activist and author strengthen each other.
Please note: we do expect significant interest in this event. If we reach capacity, you will be notified of your status by email. Please limit registration requests to one name per household or viewing screen.
Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons front Freetown Collective, a band that defies genre, delivering eclectic music and drawing on Trinidadian tradition and life experience. They perform infectious, transformative music fused with poetry and politics, philosophical and spiritual inspiration; and social justice is central to their music and creative vision. Join us for a virtual concert followed by a Q&A with the artists.
California-based comic artist Yumi Sakugawa talks about her creative practice and leads a meditation workshop on making friends with creative failure and surrendering to imperfection. This event is part of Spring into Wellness week and is sponsored by the Master Class in the Visual Arts Fund, given by a Wheaton alumna within the Evelyn Danzig Haas ’39 Visiting Artists Program.
Contemporary artist Elliott Jerome Brown, Jr. discusses his photographic installations and architectural and sculptural pieces. Brown’s work consists of compositionally obscured faces that heighten the interior landscape of the individual and the domestic spaces they inhabit. He has been featured in New York Magazine, Vice, Teen Vogue, Dazed, and more.
These one-act plays, written by advanced playwriting students in the Creative Writing Program, are presented in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Dance, student directors and actors and other Wheaton students. Via Zoom, registration required, 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. EST each day.
Saturday, March 6
12:00 p.m. Register Here
3:00 p.m. Register Here
Sunday, March 7
12:00 p.m. Register Here
3:00 p.m. Register Here
Wheaton’s choral tradition for the holidays continues, celebrating music that spans cultures and time periods, featuring the Wheaton Chorale and Chamber Singers with a guest appearance by the Wheaton Sinfonietta.
YouTube Concert Link. The concert premiere will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST
Register for the Vespers Welcome. Welcoming remarks will begin at 7:00 p.m. EST
Register for the Virtual Reception. The reception will begin shortly after the premiere ends at 8:15 p.m. EST