A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

Art Connects Us, Volume 5

At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), our community has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic as true citizen artists.

During these challenging times, their work demonstrates a belief in our interconnectedness as people and our shared responsibility to make positive change. We know headlines may be overwhelming these days, so below you’ll find good news highlighting the incredible efforts of SAIC’s artists and designers to forge and deepen connections with our communities.

We hope it inspires you for the week ahead.

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4

Image

Students Create a Guide to Artmaking During a Pandemic
In Lecturer Christalena Hughmanick’s Social Fabric(s) course, students responded to the restrictions of social distance by collaborating on a guide on how to make art in quarantine. The guide has step-by-step instructions on how to eco print, make salt dough, sew a mask, and more, and can be downloaded by anyone looking for inspiration. learn more

Image
Image courtesy of Good Postage

Alum and Mother Design Customized Cards for Frontline Workers
Mother-daughter team Karen and Jane Manfredi (BFA 2017), co-founders of Good Postage, recently launched the Gratitude Collection, which aims to brighten the days of essential workers with personalized greeting cards. All proceeds will go to Feeding America, the CDC Foundation, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Foundation, the family’s local public school foundation. learn more

 
Image
Image courtesy of The Shelter in Place

Faculty Member Erica Mott Creates a Virtual Gallery of Student Performance Art
To create a virtual showcase of her students' work, Assistant Professor, Adj. Erica Mott launched The Shelter In Place, a website of creative prompts and performance art videos. The site acts as a digital record of Mott’s SITE Practice course, cataloguing the incredible work being produced in quarantine. learn more

Image courtesy of Amaia Gabantxo

Lecturer Amaia Gabantxo Records Video-Poems in Response to Pandemic
Inspired by the parallels between poems from the Six Basque Poets anthology and modern life during a global pandemic, creative writing Lecturer Amaia Gabantxo created the #basquevideopoems, in which she translates and performs pieces from the anthology that resonate with her current experience. learn more