Creative Sparks

by Matthew Cortez

From kissing in front of the Picasso sculpture to late night sparks in the studio, of course these School of the Art Institute of Chicago romances have a creative edge.

Through SAIC’s rich history of more than 155 years, countless couples have met and connected through their shared passion for art and design. In celebration of this, we want to share a few of their love stories.

Conor McGrady (MFA 1998) & Karen Sorenson (MFA 1998)

Conor and Karen initially met as student workers in the Sharp Building, then known as the Champlain Building. Conor was an international student from Ireland and Karen came from nearby Wisconsin, but they immediately connected on performance, poetry, and everything else they were reading.

In an attempt to deepen their connection, Karen would go to Conor’s exhibition openings throughout the city. After several openings, the shy artists eventually went to dinner. They ate at a grungy café/record store (the now closed Earwax Cafe in Wicker Park), and then hopped on the train to Daley Plaza. In the middle of the night, they stood in front of the Chicago Picasso sculpture and had their first kiss. 

As it turns out, the next two and a half decades together would continue to be just as art-centric as their first evening. At SAIC, they co-taught an experimental class together in the Performance and Painting and Drawing departments, which centered on theories of power and radical pedagogies. After completing their master’s degrees, Conor was offered a position as the dean of academic affairs at Burren College of Art in Ireland. They decided to make the move, and Karen is now associate director of Development for the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies at the University of Galway. With their children, art practices, and loving relationship, they continue to thrive abroad.

Sarita Garcia (BFA 2017, MA 2023) & Joseph Josué Mora (BFA 2018)

Before they ever met in person, Sarita and Joseph were going to all the same art shows. They were two ships in the night at events like the Mexican Museum of Art’s printmaking festival, Grabadolandia. When the two eventually met online through Tinder, they realized they would both be enrolled together at SAIC. 

On their first official date at the Lincoln Park Zoo, in front of the wolf enclosure, Joseph asked Sarita to be his girlfriend. She said yes. They celebrated with burgers and heavy metal at the iconic Chicago spot Kuma’s Corner. 

At the School, they took a Performance class together with Professor Robert Sifuentes. They bonded over long nights of working together in the studios in the 162 State Street Residences, and in the years to come, Sarita and Joseph consistently collaborated on performances and artwork at various events and museums including the National Museum of Mexican Art and the LatinX Film Festival, tackling subjects like immigration, Mexican/American identity, and displacement. 

There was another major collaboration to come: getting married in 2021. Today, they continue their art practices and administrative careers at the Hyde Park Art Center and SAIC’s Department of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies, respectively. ■