In the summer of 2014 SAIC will welcome its first class of artists, historians, curators, and writers pursuing an MFA in the newest element of SAIC’s prestigious graduate fine arts program: the Low-Residency MFA. The three-year program is shaped around the evolving needs of 21st-century artists and writers—those creators on the move, applying multiple strategies not specific to any one medium, method, or environment.

Students will participate in three, six-week consecutive summer residencies at SAIC; fall and spring independent study sessions, including regular consultation with SAIC alumni advisors in students’ geographic locations; remote instruction made possible through online delivery systems; international study trips to sites of art historical importance; and a final exhibition in which significant thesis projects and their written accompaniments will be presented to the public.

Students will receive individualized attention relevant to their specific area of concentration from a diverse and deep roster of core faculty members, SAIC alumni advisors, and visiting artists from a wide range of backgrounds. Visiting artists for Summer Session 2014 already include Joseph Grigely, Kira Lynn Harris, Glenn Ligon, Josiah McElheny, Lynne Tillman, and Wu Tsang.

Directed by Gregg Bordowitz, faculty member in SAIC’s Film, Video, New Media, and Animation department, SAIC’s new Low-Residency MFA program represents the next step forward for SAIC and an opportunity to expand SAIC’s global reach. By educating contemporary artists and scholars in a flexible environment that challenges students to think critically and develop a research-based practice, the Low-Res MFA program will equip students with all the necessary skills and knowledge to develop their own methodology for production and distribution in an ever-changing art world.

I invite you to learn more about SAIC’s Low-Res MFA at saic.edu/lowres.

VOTE TODAY! Learn about the 2013–14 Student Government candidates and vote for your student representatives. Vote on EngageSAIC (follow link on homepage) for SAICSG 2013–14. Voting ends tomorrow (Friday, March 29).

Election Results will be announced on March 30. 

SAIC Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Ave.
Friday, November 16, 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 17, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Free admission

Campus Life presents the annual Holiday Art Sale in the historic SAIC Ballroom. This not-to-miss event is a wonderful opportunity for students to show and sell their work, and for the public to purchase a diverse selection of original paintings, sculptures, photography, prints, jewelry, fashion, and more. Do some holiday shopping while supporting up-and-coming artists. Participating students receive the majority of their total sales.

Richard Gray Gallery, in partnership with The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), is pleased to announce People vs. Space, a student exhibition that is the culmination of an intensive summer course led by Jaume Plensa, world-renowned Spanish sculptor and creator of the Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park. The exhibition opens Friday, July 6 and runs through July 20, 2012. The artworks on view in People vs. Space were conceived and created by 11 SAIC undergraduate and graduate students, as well as two visiting international students. Throughout People vs. Space, students worked directly with Plensa to develop project proposals for public works integrating contemporary media with the core concerns of objects, spaces, communities, and interactions. This exhibition features the detailed models and proposals developed by class members.

For the purpose of the class, Plensa asked the students to concentrate on the roles of both the artwork and the artist in public spaces and how they are understood in contemporary contexts. Students were encouraged to explore the multiple ways in which artists can create new kinds of connections between people and space, art and society, and art institutions and communities. 

Plensa is the current William and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Established in 2006 by a generous gift from William and Stephanie Sick, this distinguished professorship enables internationally renowned artists and designers to visit and teach at SAIC. People vs. Space is the second course taught by Plensa at SAIC that has culminated in an exhibition through Richard Gray Gallery. This summer, Plensa’s co-teachers are SAIC faculty members John Manning and Bo Rodda (SAIC MFA 2010). “We are proud to recognize the contributions that Jaume Plensa has made to the cultural landscape of the city of Chicago, and we are thrilled that SAIC students have the opportunity to use their talents to work with Plensa on proposals for major new public art works in our great city,” stated William and Stephanie Sick.


Exhibition Opening and Artist Reception:
Friday, July 6, 3:30-5:00 pm
Richard Gray Gallery
875 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2503
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Student Government Elections for the 2012-2013 Academic Year are happening this week. These elections are anespecially important event in our community because this group will be the first elected student representatives at SAIC since the 2005-2006 school year. 

The deadline to vote has been extended to Monday, April 23, 2012 at midnight. Please log on to the SAIC Portal to review the candidates via the Portal special announcement. You are able to vote for 4 candidates to represent you.

Monday, April 23
6:00–8:00 p.m.
MacLean Ballroom, 112. S. Michigan Ave.
What are the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the G8, and why are they the target of protests around the world? Are they vital to American security and prosperity? Are they sources of war and inequality?

Introduction by Barbara DeGenevieve, Graduate Division Chair

Panelists include: Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence; Richard Longworth, Sr. Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Patrick Rivers, Associate Professor, Visual and Critical Studies; Sarah Peters, Adjunct Associate Professor, Liberal Arts; Paul Elitzik, Faculty Adviser F Newsmagazine and Moderator.