Class Notes

2020s

Alexis de Chaunac (MFA 2020) is the 2022 recipient of the Dedalus MFA Fellowship Award. He had a solo exhibition, Ex Votos, at the University Club of Chicago.

Ashley Houghton (MFA 2021) received a 2022 MAKER Grant from the Chicago Artists Coalition.

Jake Linn (BFA 2021) helped create the initiative Disability in Hollywood (DiH) which interviews prominent disabled folks in the entertainment industry about their experiences, tips for combating ableism, and ways to increase inclusion and representation.

Angelo Madsen Minax (BFA 2005) is a recipient of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Juan Arango Palacios (BFA 2020) presented a series of 10 drawings through Entre Espada y Pared, an online viewing room by Selena's Mountain Gallery, Ridgewood, New York.

Veronica Salinas (MFA 2020) has been named the digital editor at the Oxford American. The publication recently featured an interview with Sanford Biggers (MFA 1999). 

Anirudh Singh Shaktawat (BFA 2021) had a solo show at Blueprint 12 in New Delhi, India.

Daniella Thach (BFA 2021) was a resident at Chautauqua School of Art in Chautauqua, New York.

Janet Xie (BFA 2021) will further her education with a concentration in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University. 

2010s

Alexandra Antoine (BFA 2018) was announced as the recipient of the 2022 Bloom Residency by The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative.

Karen Archey’s (BFA 2008, BA 2015) book, After Institutions, was published by Floating Opera Press in Berlin, Germany.

Marissa Lee Benedict (MFA 2011) and David Rueter (MFA 2013) presented their collaborative work, deposition, at the 34th Bienal de São Paulo and will publish a 352-page book documenting the work, designed by Studio Kader.

Katlyn Hemmingsen Berge (MA 2011) joined The Nature Conservancy as the new donor stewardship officer working to support global stewardship efforts for the organization.

Bryana Bibbs (MFA 2014) took part in a dual exhibition with Sirimas Benz Amatayakul at Chicago Artist Coalition. The exhibition, Layer, Mark, Repeat, features new works by both artists.

Tyler Blackwell (BFA 2013) was appointed curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

Danny Bredar’s (MFA 2019) and Martha Poggioli’s (MFA 2019) works were showcased in Gentle Content, an exhibition curated by Julia Birka-White at Rhona Hoffman Gallery.

Eddie Breitweiser (MFA 2012) was commissioned by NON:op Open Opera Works to create Six Words, a concert-length composition drawn from a communal space for sharing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pame Bueno (PBF 2014) was interviewed by Teen Vogue about her work as a sustainable fashion activist.

Jessica Campbell (MFA 2014) and Nyugen Smith (MFA 2016) took part in the group exhibition In the Adjacent Possible at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Jeane Cohen (MFA 2018), Yasi Ghanbari (MFA 2010), and Martha Poggioli (MFA 2019) were announced as the recipients of the 2022-2023 Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program residency.

Sharmyn Cruz Rivera (MA 2013) and Danny Giles (BFA 2011) received a grant from Graham Foundation for their project titled Josephine’s.

Juan Curci (BFA 2017) co-founded the online art marketplace Curci Art.

Peter DePasquale (MFA 2016) led an Arts Entrepreneurship Accelerator course for creatives this summer. The four-week intensive boot camp helped students and recent alumni learn how to commercialize their creative endeavors.

Sabiha Dohadwala (BFA 2018) founded Tānā Studio, a rug company born out of the need to preserve centuries of history and breach new frontiers in the craft and culture of weaving.

Katherine Doyle (MFA 2016) joined the New Mexico Museum of Art as an assistant curator.

Julian Flavin (MFA 2019) had a solo exhibition, The Smell of A House Being Built in the Rain, at Chicago Artists Coalition, where he was also the BOLT artist-in-residence.

Matthew Forehand (BFA 2017) is the 2022 resident artist in printmaking at Oolite Arts.

Erica Gressman (MFA 2012) and Bun Stout (MFA 2020) have been named the ENVISION Grant Award recipients for 2022.

Katya Grokhovsky (MFA 2011) was awarded a Creative Equations Fund: Advocacy & Immigrant Voices grant by the Brooklyn Arts Council.

Alaiia Gujral (BFA 2016) was featured by Architectural Digest in the article “3 emerging Indian textile artists you need to know.”

Aram Han-Sifuentes (MFA 2013) led professional development workshops as part of City of Stories, a summer learning initiative by Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and Chicago Public Libraries. Han-Sifuentes is also the recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Agency 2022 Fellowship.

Li-Ming Hu (MFA 2019) participated in a group show, Elsewhere and Nowhere, curated by Vera Mey at Tetuhi Art, New Zealand.

Jennifer Chen-su Huang (MFA 2017) and Roderick Sawyer (BFA 2018) had a two-person show, Diffractions, at Chicago Artists Coalition as part of the HATCH 2021-2022 artist-in-residence program.

Abhijna Vemuru Kasa (BFA 2016) launched her book and art show, The Feminine, documenting stories of femininity from individuals of Hyderabad, India.

Theresa Ketterer (BFA 2012) curated Voices: Women Artists in the Era of Second Wave Feminism at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University.

Woomin Kim (MFA 2015) had two solo exhibitions, The Shijang Project at Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, and Doo Jip Salim at Goldfinch, Chicago.

Joel Kuennen (MA 2010) was part of a group exhibition, Parallaxie, at Kunstverein Springhornhof. The show is curated by The Mycological Twist, Kreuzberg Pavilion, and Kinderhook & Caracas.

Doah Lee (BFA 2013) had a solo show, Take Care of Yourself, which is a culmination of her residency at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Millie Mac (MA 2019) has been on the jury panel for the Creative Communication Award (C2A), W3 Award, and Communicator Award, all under the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA).

Nick Mahshie (MDF 2017) had a solo exhibition, Smoke/Screen, presented by The Art and Culture Center/Hollywood in partnership with Oolite Arts, Miami, Florida.

Avital Meshi (BFA 2016) held Avital Meshi: Subverting the Algorithmic Gaze, an online solo exhibition with the New York University Institute of Fine Arts.

Erin Minckley (MFA 2012) created a new exhibit series and gallery at Relativity Textiles featuring month-long solo exhibits of primarily female-identifying, Chicago-based visual artists.

Viraj Mithani (BFA 2015) was profiled by Forbes India’s 30 under 30 list and Global Indian for his significant artistic accomplishments.

Sabeen Omar’s (BFA 2013) solo show, Tiger Balm and Other Boxes, showed at Martha van Rensselaer Gallery at Cornell University.

Shantala Palat (BFA 2012) and Alyssa Beech (BFA 2014) participated in an international collaborative project called Sister City II_Change. The culminating exhibition was curated by Andrea Przygonski (MFA 2016) at praxis ARTSPACE in Adelaide, Australia.

Yangbin Park (BFA 2011) joined the University of Memphis Art Department faculty in fall 2022.

Cheryl Pope (MDF 2010, BFA 2003) had her fifth solo show with Monique Meloche Gallery. The show, Variations on a Love Theme, traveled to the Ulrich Museum of Art in August 2022.

Breanna Robinson (BFA 2017) was awarded the 2022 Cony Family Funds Award, which supports outstanding Chicago visual artists who identify as Black or African-American.

Miguel Sbastida (MFA 2017) had a solo exhibition, High Tide, at LMNO gallery in Brussels, Belgium.

Jacqueline Surdell (MFA 2017) had a solo exhibition, Score!, at Devening Projects in Chicago.

Derrick Woods-Morrow (MFA 2016) participated in a group show, Undercurrents, at Strohl Art Center, presented by Chautauqua Visual Arts.

Frank Wang Yefeng (MFA 2011) was featured by RADII in the article “Frank Wang Yefeng Meditates on ‘In-Betweenness’ Through Video Art.”

Rachael Zur (MFA 2019) participated in the exhibition Parting Gifts at Clovis Community College, and another two-person exhibition, Told and Untold, with Heather Lee Birdsong at Carnation Contemporary in Portland, Oregon. Her works were also included in New American Paintings issue #159.

2000s

Alberto Aguilar (MFA 2001) had a solo exhibition, Seeing Thoughts Through, at ENGAGE Projects, Chicago.

Beatriz Albuquerque (MFA 2 006) was invited to be part of the Bienal Internacional de Arte de Cerveira with her project Revolution. She also conceived artperformance.net, a machine-language digital archive that encompasses the online sharing of scores or instructions for performances.

Lisa Alvarado (BFA 2007), Emily Barker (SAIC 2010–15), Rodney McMillian (Post-Bac 2000), Na Mira (BFA 2006), Guadalupe Rosales (MFA 2016), and collective Moved by the Motion founded by Wu Tsang (BFA 2004) and Tosh Basco (MFA 2018) are a part of the 2022 Whitney Biennial, Quiet as It’s Kept.

Petra Bachmaier (BFA 1999) and Sean Gallero’s (BFA 1998) Chicago art collective Luftwerk created COLORSCAPES, an immersive, site-specific installation that features a series of dynamic, experiential outdoor installations and gallery interventions.

Gina Beavers (MFA 2000) had a solo show, Pastel Looks, at Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York.

C.W. Brooks (BFA 2001) was appointed the registrar/preparator at the University of Manitoba School of Art Gallery.

Rowynn Dumont’s (BFA 2007) recent curatorial projects include Manifesting Myths at Local Project Art Space in New York, which was part of Emerging Curators Program NYC, and Long Island City Open Studios Fall Exhibitions Art Walk, where she was the chief curator. She also hosted a mini podcast series on the topics of NFTs, art, fashion, and Web3.

Leigh Fagin (MA 2006) has been named the inaugural Jean and David W. Wallace Foundation Director of the Office of the Arts at Smith College in Massachusetts.

Jean Alexander Frater (MFA 2006) had a solo show, The Shape of Things to Come, at Strohl Art Center, New York.

Dominice Gilbert (BFA 2003) was featured in Destination Tampa Bay in the article “Of Might and Metal.”

Brandice Guerra (BFA 2006), Anna Joelsdottir (MFA 2002), Clare Rosean (BFA 2010), and Gregory Jacobsen (SAIC 1998) participated in a group exhibition, Zg 2022 Spring Collection Part 2, at Zg Gallery, Chicago.

Terence Hannum’s (MFA 2003) band, Locrian, released their new album, New Catastrophism. Trever Paglen (MFA 2002) designed the album cover.

Valerie Hegarty (MFA 2002) was awarded the 2022 Individual Support Grant by the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation.

Exal Iraheta (BFA 2009) is staging a reading of his play, Hongo, at Chance Theater as part of the 2022 On The Radar New Works Series.

Vesna Jovanovic (BFA 2003) completed residencies at Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming; Virginia Center for Creative Arts in France; and ChaNorth at Chashama, Hudson Valley, New York.

Noe Kidder (MFA 2005) led the Programming Committee for the 2022 season of Manhattan public garden Le Petit Versailles, which featured Charles Lum’s (MFA 2004) films in his first posthumous retrospective.

Alex Minwoo Lee (MFA 2009, BFA 2005) premiered his latest virtual reality art game, the Fold, at the Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin 2022.

Michelle Murphy (MFA 2017), under the name M_m<M, and Farah Salem (MA 2019) participated in a group exhibition, The Land Between the Sea, at ENGAGE Projects, Chicago.

John Opera (MFA 2005) participated in Foreland Gallery Coalition July exhibitions and was represented by DOCUMENT, Chicago.

Irregular Girl, aka Regina Rodriguez, (BFA 2017) was spotlighted in Chicago Reader in an article written by Micco Caporale (MA 2018) discussing trans womanhood, her influence in the LGBTQ+ community, and how her experience at SAIC informs her current practice.

Carrie Schneider (MFA 2007), Kianja Strobert (BFA 2004), and Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez (BFA 2010) participated in the group exhibition Reciprocity at Marinaro, New York.

Mark Addison Smith (MFA 2008) was interviewed by PRINT magazine for the publication of his latest artist book, The Streets Are Very Quiet: You Look Like the Right Type Book 2.

Ursula Sokolowska’s (BFA 2001) Multiples series was awarded special distinction by jury member Josh Raab for the LensCulture Portrait Awards 2022. Her Self Portrait #1 also appeared in the 2022 Montgomery Photo Festival.

Edra Soto (MFA 2000) was announced as a recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Agency 2022 Fellowship. Soto also presented a floating installation, Casa-Isla | House-Island, in celebration of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 50th anniversary.

Martine Syms’s (BFA 2007) solo exhibition, She Mad Season One, was featured at The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her latest work, Neural Swamp, is also on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, commissioned by the Future Fields Commission.

Karen Tam (MFA 2002) presented her new exhibition, Mrs. Spring Fragrance’s Morning Room and Garden, at Galerie d’art du Parc, Quebec. Her work was also shown as part of the public art project Mémoire de l’avenir. Tam was also the artist-in-residence with McCord Museum, which will culminate in a solo exhibition in 2023.

Scheherazade Tillet (MA 2005) was selected by the Field Foundation, in partnership with The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as a 2022 leader for a new cohort of 10 Chicago leaders whose practice focuses on art, justice, and storytelling while serving communities across Chicago.

Saya Woolfalk (MFA 2004) was one of the first artists to be included in a new public art program called Art at Amtrak which showcases a rotating series of site-specific installations in Penn Station, New York.

1990s

Anne Fink Bartoc (MFA 1996) and collaborator Emily Schiffer’s photo documentary project, Brooklyn Visionaries, was featured in the PRINT Magazine’s Daily Heller column.

Sandra Binion (MFA 1992) had a solo show, the beauty of something ripped, at Alliance Française de Chicago.

Stanlyn Brevé (BFA 1999) was highlighted by the National Performance Network for her 20-year contribution to the arts.

Anna F. Brown (MFA 1992, MAAH 2000) is creating a year-long series of site-specific performances on national parklands. The full story can be followed on Instagram at @annafrancesbrown.

Shane Gabier (SAIC 1995-1998) and Christopher Peters’s (BFA 2010) fashion label, Creatures of the Wind, was featured by New York Spaces.

Jeffrey Gibson (BFA 1995) exhibited I AM YOUR RELATIVE, a site-specific project co-commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto and the Toronto Biennial of Art.

Jessica J. Hutchins (MFA 1999) was awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Jennie C. Jones (BFA 1991) had a solo show, Nocturnes, at PATRON Gallery, Chicago.

Mayumi Lake (BFA 1997) was announced as the recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Agency 2022 Fellowship.

Athena LaTocha (BFA 1992) had her second solo exhibition with JDJ, Garrison, NY.

Patrick Miceli (MFA 1997) explored the cultural impact of the shoe industry through his solo exhibition, Patrick Miceli: Played Out, at Oakton Community College.

Martina Nehrling (BFA 1993) had a virtual exhibition, NEGOTIATIONS, presented by ZINC Contemporary.

Leah Oates’s (MFA 1997) works were shown at Propeller Art Gallery as part of the Old Growth: Resurrection, Regeneration, Intervention open call, as well as The Square Foot exhibition at Gerrard Art Space.

Shin Yu Pai (MFA 1999) was commissioned by KUOW Public Radio to write, host, and produce a new podcast on Asian American stories called The Blue Suit. She was also awarded a 2022 Fellowship from Artist Trust.

Amy Pleasant (BFA 1994) had a solo exhibition, Passing Through, at Hunter Museum of American Art, a two-person exhibition at the Zuckerman Museum of Art as part of the residency program at Kennesaw State University, and another group exhibition, Currents: Women Artists from the KMA Collection at Knoxville Museum of Art.

Ken Reker (MFA 1992) self-curated his solo exhibition, ASH/ Ken Reker/ selected works 1992-2022, at Salem Old Town Hall, Massachusetts. His work was also featured in The Invisible Costs of War exhibition at ARC Gallery, Chicago.

Adam Francis Scott (MFA 1998) curated Moving Pictures: Contemporary Animation Art at Los Angeles Mission College. The exhibition featured 10 artists including Eric J. Garcia (MFA 2009), Evin Collins (MFA 2016), and Lauren Gregory (MFA 2009).

Frank Spidale (BFA 1994) had a solo exhibition, Paintings and Drawings, at Firecat Projects, Chicago.

1980s

Jose Antonio Aguirre (BFA 1982) exhibited in the 2022 edition of Tijuana Triennial: I. Pictoric International Art with the portable mural installation piece Pandemic Altar/Miktlán Pandenum.

Penelope Cagney (SAIC 1982) participated in a two-person exhibition, Parting Gifts, at Clovis Community College.

Shawn Hall (BFA 1987) participated in an online group exhibition, Our Reflection, by The Huts Magazine. She was also interviewed by the Trouble Men podcast on episode 197, “Shawn Hall makes the connection.”

David Klamen (MFA 1985) debuted a recent series of 12 ceramic sculptures in the solo exhibition Life Trophies at GRAY Chicago.

William Kohler (MFA 1987) was announced as one of the recipients of the 2022-2023 Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program residency.

Jin Lee (MFA 1988) had a solo exhibition, Views & Scenes, at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Ahn Hyong Nam (MFA 1980, BFA 1979) had a solo exhibition, Automatic Nature, at Helen J Gallery, Los Angeles, California.

Hong Sangsoo (MFA 1989) was profiled by The Nation in the article “The World-Making Aesthetic of Hong Sangsoo.”

1970s

Julia Schmitt Healy (MFA 1972) had a solo exhibition, Ray Takes a (Bad) Trip, at Western Exhibitions, Chicago.

Napoleon Jones-Henderson’s (BFA 1971) exhibition I Am As I Am—A Man showed at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts. He credits Else Regensteiner, former SAIC fiber faculty, with inspiring him to use metallics with wool in his tapestries.

Lorie Novak (MFA 1979) was selected as one of the recipients of the 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship.

1960s

Robert Anderson (MFA 1966) had a solo exhibition, Restless Observer, at The Culture Center, Rocky Neck, Massachusetts.

Indira Freitas Johnson (MFA 1967) exhibited Conservations: Here & Now, a sculptural installation in Raymond Park, Chicago.

Norma Ziemek (BFA 1964) won second place at the Venice Art Center, Florida, with her work The Night After the Opera.

1950s

Leon Golub (HON 1982, MFA 1950, BFA 1949) had a posthumous solo exhibition at Hall Art Foundation which brought together approximately 70 works that span his career from 1947 to 2003. 

Richard Hunt (BA 1957, HON 1979) was awarded the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2022 Legends and Legacy Award. This award celebrates living African-American artists who have influenced the next generation of artists through their lifelong accomplishments.

1940s

Evelyn Statsinger (BFA 1946) had a solo exhibition, Evelyn Statsinger: Currents, at GRAY New York Gallery.

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In Memoriam

Bertram J. Hoddinott (DIP 1959)

Thomas H. Kapsalis (BA Art Ed 1949, MA Art Ed 1957)

Marion Kryczka (BFA 1970)

Charles Lum (MFA 2004)

Claes Oldenburg (SAIC 1951–54)■