Visiting Artists Program

Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
Tuesday, April 04, 6:00 p.m.
Athena LaTocha, It Came From the North, 2021, Shellac ink, earth from the Green-Wood Cemetery, demolition sediment from downtown Brooklyn, glass, 112 x 222 x 6 inches

Athena LaTocha, It Came From the North, 2021, Shellac ink, earth from the Green-Wood Cemetery, demolition sediment from downtown Brooklyn, glass, 112 x 222 x 6 inches

  • Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016

    Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016, acrylic, oil, wood and collage on canvas, 69 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist; Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York, Rome; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

    Sep 12
    Laura Owens
    Bill & Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor

    Los Angeles-based artist Laura Owens is internationally renowned for her innovative approaches to painting.

  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014. Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films

    Sep 19
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
    Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul (MFA 1998, HON 2011) is recognized as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. 

  • Do Ho Suh, Home within Home within Home within Home within Home, 2013, polyester fabric, metal frame, 602.36 x 505.12 x 510.63 inches. Courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

    Oct 09
    Do Ho Suh

    Do Ho Suh works across various media, creating drawings, film, and sculptural works that confront questions of home, physical space, displacement, memory, individuality, and collectivity.

  • Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016

    Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016. Photo: Hans Schröder. Courtesy the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Marta Herford, Herford

    Oct 16
    Mark Dion

    Appropriating archaeology, field ecology, and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Mark Dion’s practice examines the ways in which dominant ideologies shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world.

  • Sarah Schulman, Cover Art

    Left: Sarah Schulman, Conflict is Not Abuse (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016).
    Right: Sarah Schulman, The Cosmopolitans (The Feminist Press, 2016).

    Oct 24
    Sarah Schulman

    Sarah Schulman is a novelist, nonfiction writer, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and AIDS historian. 

  • Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection and 2017 Spring/Summer Collection

    Left: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Spring/Summer Collection, London.
    Right: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection, London.
    Courtesy of Gareth Pugh

    Nov 01
    Gareth Pugh
    In Conversation with Gillion Carrara & Caroline Bellios

    British fashion designer Gareth Pugh is globally recognized for his approach to redefining modern luxury, and his clothes have been described as “wearable sculptures,” with experimental forms, volumes, and fabrics as part of his signature aesthetic. 

  • Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012

    Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia

    Nov 13
    Stefan Sagmeister

    Stefan Sagmeister’s unconventional practice explores the subjects of our lives, like happiness or beauty; how they connect to design, and what that actually means to our everyday lives. 

  • Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016

    Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016, acrylic, oil, wood and collage on canvas, 69 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist; Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York, Rome; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

    Sep 12
    Laura Owens
    Bill & Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor

    Los Angeles-based artist Laura Owens is internationally renowned for her innovative approaches to painting.

  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014. Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films

    Sep 19
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
    Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul (MFA 1998, HON 2011) is recognized as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. 

  • Do Ho Suh, Home within Home within Home within Home within Home, 2013, polyester fabric, metal frame, 602.36 x 505.12 x 510.63 inches. Courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

    Oct 09
    Do Ho Suh

    Do Ho Suh works across various media, creating drawings, film, and sculptural works that confront questions of home, physical space, displacement, memory, individuality, and collectivity.

  • Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016

    Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016. Photo: Hans Schröder. Courtesy the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Marta Herford, Herford

    Oct 16
    Mark Dion

    Appropriating archaeology, field ecology, and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Mark Dion’s practice examines the ways in which dominant ideologies shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world.

  • Sarah Schulman, Cover Art

    Left: Sarah Schulman, Conflict is Not Abuse (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016).
    Right: Sarah Schulman, The Cosmopolitans (The Feminist Press, 2016).

    Oct 24
    Sarah Schulman

    Sarah Schulman is a novelist, nonfiction writer, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and AIDS historian. 

  • Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection and 2017 Spring/Summer Collection

    Left: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Spring/Summer Collection, London.
    Right: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection, London.
    Courtesy of Gareth Pugh

    Nov 01
    Gareth Pugh
    In Conversation with Gillion Carrara & Caroline Bellios

    British fashion designer Gareth Pugh is globally recognized for his approach to redefining modern luxury, and his clothes have been described as “wearable sculptures,” with experimental forms, volumes, and fabrics as part of his signature aesthetic. 

  • Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012

    Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia

    Nov 13
    Stefan Sagmeister

    Stefan Sagmeister’s unconventional practice explores the subjects of our lives, like happiness or beauty; how they connect to design, and what that actually means to our everyday lives. 

  • Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016

    Laura Owens, Untitled, 2016, acrylic, oil, wood and collage on canvas, 69 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist; Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York, Rome; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

    Sep 12
    Laura Owens
    Bill & Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor

    Los Angeles-based artist Laura Owens is internationally renowned for her innovative approaches to painting.

  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fireworks (Archives), 2014. Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films

    Sep 19
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
    Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series

    Apichatpong Weerasethakul (MFA 1998, HON 2011) is recognized as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. 

  • Do Ho Suh, Home within Home within Home within Home within Home, 2013, polyester fabric, metal frame, 602.36 x 505.12 x 510.63 inches. Courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

    Oct 09
    Do Ho Suh

    Do Ho Suh works across various media, creating drawings, film, and sculptural works that confront questions of home, physical space, displacement, memory, individuality, and collectivity.

  • Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016

    Mark Dion, Wayward Wilderness (installation view), Marta Herford, Herford, Germany, October 24, 2015 – February 7, 2016. Photo: Hans Schröder. Courtesy the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Marta Herford, Herford

    Oct 16
    Mark Dion

    Appropriating archaeology, field ecology, and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Mark Dion’s practice examines the ways in which dominant ideologies shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world.

  • Sarah Schulman, Cover Art

    Left: Sarah Schulman, Conflict is Not Abuse (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016).
    Right: Sarah Schulman, The Cosmopolitans (The Feminist Press, 2016).

    Oct 24
    Sarah Schulman

    Sarah Schulman is a novelist, nonfiction writer, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and AIDS historian. 

  • Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection and 2017 Spring/Summer Collection

    Left: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Spring/Summer Collection, London.
    Right: Gareth Pugh, 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection, London.
    Courtesy of Gareth Pugh

    Nov 01
    Gareth Pugh
    In Conversation with Gillion Carrara & Caroline Bellios

    British fashion designer Gareth Pugh is globally recognized for his approach to redefining modern luxury, and his clothes have been described as “wearable sculptures,” with experimental forms, volumes, and fabrics as part of his signature aesthetic. 

  • Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012

    Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, 2012, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia

    Nov 13
    Stefan Sagmeister

    Stefan Sagmeister’s unconventional practice explores the subjects of our lives, like happiness or beauty; how they connect to design, and what that actually means to our everyday lives. 

Visiting Minds. Lasting Influence.

Join us for lectures presented by the Visiting Artists Program (VAP)—a public forum that features today's most influential practitioners and thinkers.

Founded in 1868, the Visiting Artists Program is one of the oldest public programs of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Formalized in 1951 with the establishment of an endowed fund by Flora Mayer Witkowsky, the Visiting Artists Program has featured over 1,000 international artists, designers, and scholars representing more than 70 countries through a diverse mix of lectures, screenings, conversations, and readings. The Visiting Artists Program provides a platform for innovative ideas that inspire and educate.

An invaluable resource for SAIC students, the Visiting Artists Program is central to SAIC's interdisciplinary curriculum. In addition to public lectures, visitors directly engage with SAIC students through studio critiques and roundtable discussions, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and culture.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.