Safety in the Arts and Theatre

 

The Risk Management and Safety Department serves both the Studio Art program and the Theatre Department faculty, staff and students by providing technical support and training, studio consultations and periodic audits of health and safety practices, including regulatory compliance.

Activities in both the art and theatre department are regulated under the UVM Laboratory Safety Policy. 

Art and theatre departments at academic institutions come with their own unique safety hazards. For example, in both Williams Hall and Royall Tyler Theatre, there is a machine shop with mechanical equipment that includes the use of lathes, grinders and mechanical saws.  In studio art classes and theatre scene shops, a variety of chemical compounds are also used on a regular basis. These may include paints, glazes, aerosols, glues and solvents. Chemicals in these academic disciplines are often molded, brushed and/or sprayed and many of them contain chemicals that may be flammable, corrosive or toxic. Substituting non-hazardous alternatives and using proper engineering controls, such as having adequate ventilation for these activities, can be a key way to reducing such safety hazards.

Materials and procedures in art and theatre departments should be individually assessed and clearly documented as they might be in a typical laboratory setting. 

Please contact UVM Risk Management and Safety to perform a hazard assessment of a current practices or before you begin a new procedure. Never do repairs or make changes to anything that may affect a building system (e.g. electrical, mechanical, ventilation) without contact UVM Physical Plant personnel first.

Please click on the link below that best suits your needs or interest.

Art Safety        Theatre Safety