Do you enjoy designing and critiquing art? Interested in collaborating on projects with peers and faculty members? If so, you should consider joining one of Wheaton’s newest academic clubs, Student Art League. The club is student-run and takes part in a wide variety of activities related to art and design on and off campus.
A small group of artistic students introduced Student Art League to Wheaton several years ago. Unfortunately, the club didn’t gain much popularity and ceased to exist a few years later. Hoping to once again bring students and faculty together through creative means, former students Sophie Gipstein ’14 and Christina Ferragamo ’14 revived Student Art League at the beginning of last year. The new club leaders, Margaret Walton ’17 and Charlotte Hall ’17, have many plans for the upcoming semester and look forward to a busy and exciting school year.
Walton, the current president of Student Art League, seeks to bridge the gap between the Art Department at Wheaton and talented students who might not be able to devote their time to arts during their college career.
“It is my hope that Student Art League will create a welcoming environment where students can collaborate and express themselves freely through their artwork,” said Walton. “Student Art League is not limited to Studio Art majors — the only prerequisite is a positive attitude,” she added.
Student Art League will offer open events at little to no cost to the student body. Returning members are planning to arrange workshops where students will be able to work alongside faculty members on sculpture, painting and 3-D design projects. The club looks forward to holding installations or group projects where students and professors can create meaningful works of art that can be displayed around Wheaton’s campus.
The main goal of these workshops is to strengthen student-faculty relationships and foster collaboration among the student body. Student Art League is also reaching out to sports teams and academic organizations in need of logos or T-shirt designs. The club is more than happy to design and create art to benefit members of the Wheaton community.
Student Art League encourages those who have an interest in making or learning about art to join. Meetings are to be held on a weekly basis with longer workshops scheduled at the end of each month. Club leaders stress that no artistic experience is required and look forward to working with a diverse and enthusiastic group of students.