The Thick and the Clear

Join The Thick & the Clear: C.S. Lewis and the Arts—a conference exploring faith, imagination, and Lewis’s vision of art that is thick and clear.

How do the arts make the invisible visible? How can beauty, imagination, and craft awaken our understanding of truth? What is a baptized imagination and what did C.S. Lewis reveal through one of his most difficult books, Till We Have Faces? 

Join us for The Thick & the Clear: C.S. Lewis and the Arts. 

Hosted in collaboration with the Marion E. Wade Center, the conference brings together artists, scholars, and audiences to engage with C.S. Lewis’s vision of art that is both intellectually rich (“thick”) and spiritually transparent (“clear”).

Featured Speakers

• Dr. Jim Beitler – Director, The Wade Center

• Karl Johnson – Director, C.S. Lewis Institute Chicago

• David Bates – Host, Pints with Jack podcast

Conference Schedule

Friday, March 13

7:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Opening Session & Reception at the Wade Center

Enjoy light bites and an evening of conversation on the intersection of faith and imagination.

Saturday, March 14

9:00 a.m. | Breakfast & Morning Session (meal included)

10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. | Breakout sessions and discussions

11:30 - 12:30 p.m. | Lunch (on your own)

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Pre-show discussion 

2:00 – 4:15 p.m. | Performance: “BareFace” by Ballet 5:8 (tickets included in conference fee)

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion & Catered Dinner

Please note: This is not a production of Wheaton College.

*Purchase Tickets here