Join us to celebrate the opening of our latest gallery exhibition Domestic State. This mid-day opening reception will feature doughnuts from KNEAD Doughnuts.

As we have all been required to spend concentrated time in our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic spaces have developed new contexts and significance. Through humor, tragedy, the magical and the mundane, the artists in Domestic State explore the meaning and narrative of domestic spaces and objects. Han Seok You photographs himself in the US and Korea, in an effort to define what “home” means. Manal Abu Shaheen’s series Julian follows the experiences of her brother, a Lebanese-American single father, raising his family on a Pennsylvania farm. Elizabeth Duffy’s installations and objects allude to the apparent comforts of home while revealing its contradictions. Shabnam Janessari’s saturated paintings depict spaces that empower the complex realities of Iranian female identity. In addition to work by contemporary artists, pieces from Wheaton’s Permanent Collection offer a contrast between past and present. Artists featured in the exhibition include: Manal Abu Shaheen, Maria G. Baker, Elizabeth Duffy, Shabnam Janessari, Andrew Raftery, and Han Seok You.

This exhibition is an open call for postcard-sized responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. All submissions will be included in the exhibition and become part of the Wheaton College Permanent Collection. The exhibition is an effort to combat the social isolation this virus has forced on us. It is a chance to see, through the eyes of another, an expression of this experience. It is an opportunity to come together when we still have to remain physically apart. Submissions are welcome through Oct. 10 at u.nu/postcards.

Register on Zoom here.

The exhibition will be on display October 20–November 24 2020.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Beard & Weil Galleries will only be open to the on-campus Wheaton community during the fall 2020 semester. We will make every effort to make our exhibitions available virtually during this time. We appreciate your patience as we navigate this global challenge and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus when we are able to resume normal operations.