Spring 2020 visiting artists and designers

Each semester, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) hosts talks, conversations, and screenings by world-renowned artists, designers, and scholars that are open to the public. We are proud to announce the spring 2020 lineup.

Visiting Artists Program
Formalized in 1951 with the establishment of an endowed fund by Flora Mayer Witkowsky, SAIC’s Visiting Artists Program hosts public presentations by some of today’s most compelling practitioners and thinkers to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and culture. All events are free, non-ticketed, and are held at 6pm at The Art Institute of Chicago, Rubloff Auditorium. Learn more at saic.edu/vap.

Emil Ferris: Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
February 11

Industrial Facility
February 25
Presented in partnership with the William Bronson and Grayce Slovet Mitchell Lecture Series

Suzanne Anker
March 10

Ian Cheng
March 24
Presented in partnership with Conversations at the Edge

Trenton Doyle Hancock
April 6

Tsai Ming-liang
April 21

Conversations at the Edge
Organized by the Department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation in collaboration with SAIC’s Gene Siskel Film Center and Video Data Bank, Conversations at the Edge is a weekly series of screenings, performances, and talks by groundbreaking media artists. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit saic.edu/cate.

An Evening with Vaginal Davis
February 6

Lori Felker: Intrusions and Interruptions
February 13

Avant-Noir
February 20

South by Southeast
February 22

Linda Mary Montano: Laughing, Crying, Living Art
February 27

Mariah Garnett: Trouble
March 5

Beatrice Gibson: Two Sisters
March 12

An Evening with Ian Cheng
March 24
Presented in partnership with the Visiting Artists Program

This Set of Actions is a Mirror
April 2

Wong Ping: Digital Fables
April 9

McKenzie Wark and Legacy Russell: Culture That Loves Us
April 16

The Grayce Slovet and William Bronson Mitchell Lecture Series
Organized by the department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects, the Mitchell Lecture Series brings leaders and emerging voices in architecture, design, and other disciplines from around the world to SAIC for lectures, workshops, and studio visits. All events are free, and are held at 6:00 p.m. at SAIC’s LeRoy Neiman Center. More information at saic.edu/aiado.

Paola Aguirre Serrano: Design With, Not For
February 18

Industrial Facility
February 25
Presented in partnership with the Visiting Artists Program

Jenny Sabin: Surface Architecture and New Paradigms of Making
March 5

Eric Bunge: Buildings and Almost Buildings
April 2

Gillian Russell: Thinking Through Design: Critical Exploits and Spaces of Possibility
April 9

Onkar Kular: The Right to Design
April 23

For all events, persons with disabilities requesting accommodations should visit saic.edu/access.

About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For more than 150 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 consistently ranking among the top programs 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—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, Jeff Koons, and LeRoy Neiman. Learn more at saic.edu.