Art Connects Us, Volume 16

At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), our community has responded to the current moment as true citizen artists.

Their work demonstrates a belief in our interconnectedness as people and our shared responsibility to make positive change. We know headlines may be overwhelming these days, so below you’ll find good news highlighting the incredible efforts of SAIC’s artists and designers to forge and deepen connections with our communities.

We hope it inspires you for the week ahead.

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
Volume 7
Volume 8
Volume 9
Volume 10
Volume 11
Volume 12
Volume 13
Volume 14
Volume 15

Teaching as a Tool for Social Justice
Beatriz Beckford is a full-time student and a full-time activist. In SAIC's Master of Arts in Teaching program, she's developing a pedagogy centered on social justice, all while leading campaigns against push out disciplinary practices, in-school policing, and youth prisons as national director for youth and education justice at Moms Rising. read more

Riva Lehrer’s New Memoir Captures Stories of Stigma
Assistant Professor, adj. Riva Lehrer (SAIC 1993–95) is best known for her paintings that tell the stories of people who have been ostracized for their disability or sexual or gender identity. However, this fall, she decided to tell a different story: her own. Lehrer’s new memoir Golem Girl narrates her experience growing up with spina bifida. read more

Joseph Grigely's Work Spotlighted in the New York Times
In a piece on how artists are reimagining their practice during the pandemic, the New York Times spotlighted the work of Professor Joseph Grigely. Grigely talked about how he's encouraging his students to embrace technology as a way to create different access points for their work and how COVID-19 is reframing his own work around communication. read more