Page 16 - Programming Guide

*Due to Covid-19 public art displays and campus performances may only be permitted on a case by case basis, while following all applicable Covid-19 safety protocols and guidelines.*
Title: Public Art Displays and Campus Performances
Responsible staff: Kimberley Fair, Office Coordinator of Student Activities Responsible office: Student Activities Office
Guidelines for Campus Performances, Plays, Recitals, and Shows:
Performances, plays recitals, shows, and other productions put on by student groups must first be in compliance with the college’s policy regarding the Public Display of Art (see below). When it comes to productions, however, further clarification may be helpful. A balance must continually be sought between a faithful depiction of the world of the production as intended by the playwright/composer (which includes specific choices of language and milieu) and the use of means to project those intentions that exhibit restraint and demonstrate respect for the standards of the Wheaton College Community. Profanity (language that takes God’s name in vain) must be omitted from all productions. Coarse or gratuitous language or action must be scrupulously examined by the student director in consultation with the group’s advisor and the Associate Director of Student Activities. Similar examination and consultation should be sought in regard to the need for modesty in the design and construction of costumes.
Public Display of Art:
The Wheaton College Community Covenant acknowledges Scripture’s condemnation of vulgar or obscene language, but our campus community also experiences expressions (especially via the arts) of outrage and resistance to violations of life’s sanctity. The College highly values the power of art to uniquely embody and communicate what it means to be human. We marvel at the ability and privilege of people to exercise their powers of art making. When artwork wields these powers through making use of vulgar, obscene, or violent language and/or images, the College exhibits the work with discretion about its location and its impact on viewers of all ages. Artworks with challenging and difficult messages are exhibited in a publicly accessible space as a part of a dedicated event sponsored by a campus department, organization and/or club. The College’s practice has been to avoid the exhibition of explicitly vulgar or obscene content in public places like the Beamer Center. Sponsored events require collaboration between the artist and the faculty/staff and student leader(s) of the sponsoring department, organization and/or club along with the Associate Director of Student Activities and an Art department faculty member. Such collaboration will consider artistic efficacy and ethical accountability to artist and viewers in discerning exhibition parameters.
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