Spring 2021 virtual visiting artist events

Each semester, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) hosts talks, conversations, and screenings by world-renowned artists, designers, scholars, and filmmakers that are open to the public. We hope you join audiences around the world by tuning in to these virtual events. 

Visiting Artists Program
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. All events are free, virtual, open to the public, and feature an audience Q&A. Registration is not required. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Click each event for information on how to tune in. Learn more.

Yinka Shonibare CBE in conversation with Delinda Collier
February 23, 12–1:30pm CT
The interdisciplinary practice of London-based artist Yinka Shonibare CBE uses citations of Western art history and literature to question the validity of contemporary cultural and national identities within the context of globalization. Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Wellness Center and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Pedro Reyes
March 2, 6:30–7:45pm CT
Pedro Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organization to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humor

Meg Onli: Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
March 16, 6:30–7:45pm CT
Meg Onli (BFA 2008) is the Andrea B. Laporte Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Presented in partnership with SAIC Alumni Relations.

Miranda July in conversation with Jennifer Reeder
March 30, 6:30–7:30pm CT
Miranda July is a filmmaker, artist, and writer whose work explores human connection, inclusivity, desire, fear, and fantasy. Presented in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago and SAIC’s Department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation.

Ian Cheng
April 6, 6:30–7:45pm CT
Drawing on principles of video game design, improvisation, and cognitive science, Ian Cheng’s practice explores the nature of mutation and the capacity of humans to relate to change. Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation’s Conversations at the Edge series.

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. All programs are virtual and open to the public, and take place at the Gene Siskel Film Center Virtual Cinema. Click each event for information on how to watch. Learn more.

Wendy Clarke: One on One
A multipart look at Wendy Clarke’s groundbreaking 50-year career in video, including a special focus on her One on One project, which took shape as a series of video letters between inmates at the California Institute for Men in Chino and community members in Santa Monica and Los Angeles in the early 1990s. Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Video Data Bank.​

Wendy Clarke in conversation with Bruce Jenkins and Maria Gaspar
February 11, 7pm CT

Screenings
One on One: Ken and Louise (1994)
Streaming February 8–14

One on One: Arnold and Ahneva (1991) 
Streaming February 11–17 

This Set of Actions Is a Mirror
Referencing a phrase from Carolyn Lazard’s video artwork A Recipe for Disaster (2018), This Set of Actions is a Mirror is a multipart look at expressions of disability culture and politics in artists’ moving image. View works spanning the last 30 years in two separate screenings and join community activist Dustin Gibson, Crip Theory author Robert McRuer, and This Set of Actions Is a Mirror curators Liza Sylvestre and Minh Nguyen for a cross-disciplinary discussion about art and disability justice.

Panel discussion with Dustin Gibson, Robert McRuer, and Liza Sylvestre, moderated by Minh Nguyen
February 25, 7pm CT

Screenings
New Channels of Access (multiple artists, 1995–2018)
Streaming February 22–28

Compensation (Zeinabu irene Davis, 1999)
Streaming February 25–March 3

Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s rich and often surreal films blend narrative and documentary to explore the private worlds of Black women. View four of her short films and join us for a conversation with the artist about her practice, including her ongoing work with the United Order of Tents and research into representation, abstraction, and the archive.

Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich lecture and conversation with Romi Crawford
March 25, 7pm CT

Screening
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich: Speculative Archives (2019–20)
Streaming March 22–28

Ian Cheng
April 6, 6:30–7:45pm CT
Drawing on principles of video game design, improvisation, and cognitive science, Ian Cheng’s practice explores the nature of mutation and the capacity of humans to relate to change. Presented in partnership with SAIC’s Visiting Artists Program.

Wong Ping
Self-described as “low-tech, stand-up comedies,” the work of Hong Kong–based artist and animator Wong Ping combines dark humor with nuanced social commentary. View a selection of his films and join the artist for a discussion about the ideas that inform his practice. Presented in partnership with the Open Practice Committee in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago.

Wong Ping lecture and conversation with Orianna Cacchione
April 15, 7pm CT

Screening
Wong Ping: Digital Fables
Streaming April 12–18

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.