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150 Years of
Our symbiotic relationship with the city radiates outward as students, faculty, and staff connect themselves to the diverse communities of Chicago and the entire world. The city's richness, complexity, and contradictions have been the perfect environment for our own diverse community for 150 years.
Our symbiotic relationship with the city radiates outward as students, faculty, and staff connect themselves to the diverse communities of Chicago and the entire world. The city's richness, complexity, and contradictions have been the perfect environment for our own diverse community for 150 years.
Homegrown
With an increase in applications from CPS students, SAIC donors and friends have created new ways to support local talent.
Make It Work
A new committee of successful local business owners is starting a movement to support SAIC student entrepreneurs.
Walter and Shirley Massey Chicago Scholarship Fund
John L. Thomson established the fund to provide critically important need-based scholarships to talented students from Chicago.
SAIC’s Columbus Drive Building
Completed in 1976, the Columbus Drive Building was SAIC’s first building independent of the museum.
Enabling Artists
SAIC student’s arts administration practice provides resources and collaborators to help artists realize their work.
Art in Andersonville
Two recent alums exceeded their funding goal to open a community art center in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.
Worth a Thousand Words
A chance discovery leads to street photographer Vivian Maier’s posthumous rise to fame and an SAIC scholarship.
College Prep
SAIC’s College Arts Access Program prepares Chicago Public School students for a successful future in art, design, and beyond.
Chicago’s Sculptor
Richard Hunt (BA 1957, HON 1979) is Chicago's most prolific and accomplished sculptor.
SAIC Underground
Back in the days when all SAIC classrooms were underground in the basement of the Art Institute of Chicago museum, there was one single gathering space for SAIC students, faculty, and visitors: the subterranean cafeteria.
The Community Artist and Educator
Margaret Taylor Burroughs (BA 1942, MA 1948, HON 1987) was an artist, activist, educator, poet, and much more.
Partner in Art
Margaret Koreman (BFA 1988, MA 2002) is helping to develop new programs to support Chicago Public Schools students, teachers, and families.
Influencer of Imagists
Ray Yoshida (BFA 1953) was an alum, educator, and key influence on the Chicago Imagists.
Trailblazer
SAIC Professor Frances Whitehead is modeling new pathways for artists through her work as the Lead Artist on Chicago’s new recreational trail, The 606.
Artist-Run Alternative
Deeply connected to SAIC, the Randolph Street Gallery supported the noncommercial and championed the experimental.
N.A.M.E. Fame
For more than 20 years, N.A.M.E. Gallery showed experimental work and provided a platform for the "genuine oddballs and visionaries" of their generation.