Curatorial Opportunities for Students

At present, the Department of Exhibitions and Exhibitions Studies offers various opportunities for current students interested in curatorial practice.

SITE Galleries: Director Positions

Founded in 1994, SITE Galleries (formerly Student Union Galleries) is a student-run gallery at SAIC for the exhibition of student work in two locations on campus: the LeRoy Neiman Center, SITE Sharp Gallery, and a newly renovated gallery space in the 280 building, SITE Columbus Gallery. SITE operations are managed by a group of five student Directors who are appointed for year-long terms and produce around ten exhibitions each year. Director positions are open to graduate and undergraduate students and are advertised in the spring semester for returning students. For more information, visit the SITE website, or contact SITE at sitegalleries@saic.edu.

SAIC Galleries: Graduate Curatorial Assistant Positions

SAIC Galleries, brings to Chicago audiences the work of acclaimed and emerging artists, while providing the School and the public opportunities for direct involvement and exchange with the discourses of art today. With shows and projects often led by faculty or student curators, it is a teaching gallery that engages the exhibition process as a pedagogical model and mode of research. Graduate Curatorial Assistants (GCAs) play a significant role in the operations of SAIC Galleries, assisting with major exhibitions, thesis shows, and often working directly with artists and curating exhibitions of student work. GCA positions are open to all MA and MFA students, for semester, year, or multi-year long terms as dependent on projects assigned. The call for applications occurs in late fall, with positions beginning in the spring semester. For more information or to be added to the email list for notifications, contact Trevor Martin, Executive Director of Exhibitions, tmartin@saic.edu

Institute for Curatorial Research and Practice: Programs

Launched in fall 2016 as a center for the study of processes undertaken by curators, the Institute for Curatorial Research and Practice at SAIC aspires to foster advanced thinking in the field, serving as an incubator for creative inquiry. The Institute serves as a laboratory for the development of research and curatorially engaged artistic practices. In this capacity, it offers a forum in which to pose critical questions about how curators and artists develop their work in partnership with others and in relation to audiences. All SAIC students interested in curatorial practice are encouraged to engage in the Institute’s series of programs. To be added to the email list for notifications, contact saiccuratorialinstitute@saic.edu.

Undergraduate and graduate students can also apply to be a part of our special events and installation crew at SAIC Galleries.

For more information, please contact Michael Hall, Senior Exhibition Manager, at mhall2@artic.edu.