Art Connects Us, Volume 30

A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

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

Our community's work demonstrates a belief in our interconnectedness as people and our shared responsibility to make positive change. Below you’ll find just a few of the stories that build our optimism, reignite our passion, and fill us with hope for the future.

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
Volume 16
Volume 17
Volume 18
Volume 19
Volume 20
Volume 21
Volume 22
Volume 23
Volume 24
Volume 25
Volume 26
Volume 27
Volume 28
Volume 29

A composite grid image of twelve artists photo portraits — Composite image courtesy of Hyperallergic

SAIC Community Members Commissioned to Reflect on the Great Migration
For an upcoming exhibition, the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art are asking 12 artists to ruminate on the Black culture that flourished during the Great Migration. This group includes SAIC community members Steffani Jemison (MFA 2009) and Theaster Gates (HON 2014), who will create new work in response to this pivotal moment in US history. read more

A black and white illustration of a mother and a child on the couch — From Keiler Roberts's "My Begging Chart." Image courtesy of the Chicago Reader

Lecturer Keiler Roberts’s Comics Examine the Highs and Lows of the Everyday
In her new autobiographical book of comics My Begging Chart, Lecturer Keiler Roberts explores the sadness and humor of her daily routine, including life during the pandemic. “I try to think about the areas of my life where there is no inherent significance as just as significant as the things we put all this meaning on,” Roberts shared. read more

Several shelves with a collection of art objects and statues of figures, buildings, and crosses — Objects and artworks from the curated collection of the artist Ray Yoshida at the Art Preserve. Photo courtesy of Kevin Miyazaki for the New York Times

Alum Ray Yoshida’s Work Featured in Experimental New Art Museum
Art Preserve—opening this month in Sheboygan—is the first museum in the country devoted to “environment builders,” artists whose worldviews translate into immersive, physical forms. Objects and artworks from alum Ray Yoshida’s (BFA 1953) collection will be featured, along with an accompanying installation by Professor and Senior Chair of Painting and Drawing Michelle Grabner. read more

A person posing in a sculptural black dress in front of a white photo backdrop — Grace DuVal, Refuse Refuge, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist

Grace DuVal's Drag Race Hat Trick
For many across the country, Friday nights on VH1 brought much-needed reprieve over the last year in the form of the joy-filled, record-setting season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Behind the scenes, alum Grace DuVal’s (Post-Bac 2012, MDes 2015) designs helped spread the joy. read more

Student Nitya Mehrotra’s Animations Give a Voice to Victims