Across from Sam’s Cafe lies a small passageway with paintings framing the walls, inviting passerby to take a moment and walk through, taking in the beauty of creating art. Though the gallery’s theme changes, the intention remains the same: to make students’ stories seen and heard.
Peaq is the Storytelling Project’s (STP) latest work that gives space for student art in Lower Beamer, the heart of campus life. Beginning in October, they invited Kristen Baurain, a sophomore studying English writing and art-integrated philosophy, to display her artwork in the hallway. This gallery, titled “Controlled Chaos,” lined the walls for about three months and allowed space for students to walk through and observe all the paintings and prints.
“Each one of them was kind of like a step in my journey as an artist and together, they all looked very chaotic, but also unified,” Baurain said, “So I decided to call it ‘Controlled Chaos’ because what I like to do as an artist is see how much chaos and color and stuff I can put into a painting before it becomes too much.”
The Storytelling Project began in 2018 with the mission to make every student feel seen and heard – and help every student see and hear others. STP has undertaken a number of projects over the years, including a full-length album in 2022.
Different types of art line the walls in Lower Beamer. Photo by Lilliana Taussig. 
The canvas paintings included in the Peaq art gallery. Photo by Lilliana Taussig. 
The Storytelling Project’s space in Lower Beamer. Photo by Lilliana Taussig. 
Peaq showcases student art in its current display. Photo by Lilliana Taussig.
Liya Diller and Hannah Morris, two visual artists on STP, worked together to create the second gallery of Peaq that focused on the stories of students returning from their student missions trips. Illustrations reflected journeys through places like Costa Rica and Thailand, where people could experience their trips in an art form through Peaq. Morris and Diller began interviewing the returned students, turning their stories into pieces of physical art.
For Black history month, the “Black and Beloved” gallery showcased art from black artists and told stories through picture, painting and poetry.
Bold yellows and oranges and bright blues cover the walls with portraits and photos of black students at Wheaton. Poems like “Little Rock in My Shoe” by Isis Toldson, a senior majoring in biblical studies and theology, help to create a story alongside the photos. Like the paper stars and sun on the wall that reflect the change from night and day, Toldson’s poem captures the tension of “holding loss and joy at the same time.” Stories of loss and remembrance, of hobbies, and of spirituality cover the small hallway. Some of the other artworks include a collection of collaborative works from people in STP and the William Osborne Society created over a night of art and conversations.
“Transient/Transit” by Ryan Shepherd, a senior studying studio art, focuses on two interrelated personal questions: “How do you love the memory of something, the memory of the place and how does that push you forward?”
Shepherd said he began thinking of memory, love, and loss in relation to Brooklyn, New York, his hometown. Shades of blue cover the canvas with highlights of yellows, browns, and reds, resembling the shape of a train station. As the subway was a central part of life in Brooklyn for him, he
“For me, this piece was a lot about loss of a home but still being loving towards it,” said Shepherd.
Peaq will remain a creative space for future STP teams to utilize for the foreseeable future. Hopes for the space surround simultaneous hopes for the student body in relation to art.
Claudia Maxson, a junior studying English literature and Bible and theology, is in her second year two of working with STP. Last year she was a poet on the team, and this year she is creative director, where she manages much of the organizational work and communication of the club.
“The idea of Storytelling Project is to make a space where it’s not primarily us extolling our own work,” said Maxson, “it’s more important for a campus that needs art to hear from a multitude of perspectives.”
STP’s new project, “Peaq,” is focused on helping Wheaton’s campus community to engage in one another’s stories through mediums of art.
“Storytelling is a really helpful way of reorienting ourselves towards a Christian lifestyle that calls us to wrestle, to ponder and most of all to listen,” said Maxson.
“There’s this false dichotomy that you have to be an art major to do art, or you have to be an artsy person to be creative, but I don’t think that’s true. I love to see people breaking down those barriers,” said Diller.
“I feel like art is the antithesis of our culture right now. We’re so busy and we need that instantaneous gratification,” said Maxson. “One way you can break out of that mindset is looking at art, which holds a posture of humility of wrestling with what the piece is trying to say.”