Fall 2025 Visiting Artists Program Includes Art Spiegelman, Jennifer Packer, and More

CHICAGO—The Visiting Artists Program (VAP) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is excited to announce its Fall lineup featuring renowned visiting artists, designers, and scholars including Art Spiegelman, Jennifer Packer, and more. Founded in 1868, VAP is SAIC’s longest-running public program and has welcomed more than 1,000 guests throughout its history. The primary mission of the Visiting Artists Program is to educate and foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and culture through discourse. All events are free and open to the public.

The Fall 2025 season features five events. Details follow below.

Objects of Common Interest
Tuesday, September 23, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.

Founded by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis in 2016, Objects of Common Interest works at the intersection of art, design, and architecture. Objects of Common Interest will have work on view as part of the sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial—SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, September 19, 2025, through February 28, 2026. Presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial and the William Bronson and Grayce Slovet Mitchell Lecture Series in SAIC’s Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects.

Art Spiegelman in Conversation with Mark Pascale
Monday, September 29, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Virtual Event. Click here to join via Zoom

Art Spiegelman has almost single-handedly brought comic books out of the toy closet and onto the literature shelves, and in 1992 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his masterful Holocaust narrative Maus. He will discuss his work with Mark Pascale, the Janet and Craig Duchossois Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Presented on the occasion of SAIC's new Master of Fine Arts in Studio, Comics program, an innovative, interdisciplinary pathway designed for aspiring comic artists.

Pablo Helguera: Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
Monday, October 6, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.

Pablo Helguera (BFA 1993) is a New York–based artist working with installation, sculpture, photography, drawing, socially engaged art, and performance. Presented in partnership with SAIC Alumni Engagement.

Lee Mingwei: Bill & Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture
Tuesday, October 21, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.

Lee Mingwei creates participatory installations where strangers can explore issues of trust, intimacy, and self-awareness and contemplate these issues with the artist through eating, sleeping, walking, and conversation. Established in 2006 by a generous gift from Bill and Stephanie Sick, this distinguished visiting professorship enables internationally renowned artists and designers to visit and teach at SAIC.

Jennifer Packer
Wednesday, November 5, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave.

Jennifer Packer creates portraits, interior scenes, and still lifes that suggest a casual intimacy, viewing her works as the result of an authentic encounter and exchange. Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Department of Painting and Drawing.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For nearly 160 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world, and adults, teens, and kids in our Continuing Studies classes have the opportunity to explore their creative sides, build portfolios, and advance their skills. Notable alumni and faculty include Georgia O’Keeffe, Nick Cave, David Sedaris, Cynthia Rowley, Michelle Grabner, Richard Hunt, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Jeff Koons.

All Visiting Artists Program events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit saic.edu/vap. The Visiting Artists Program acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.