Post-Election Community Gathering

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

We write to you this afternoon in a spirit of community and togetherness. We urge you to take this opportunity to reflect on the unique role that each and every one of you—as artists, designers, and scholars—has to play in our societies.

Sculptor Anish Kapoor once remarked: “We live in a fractured world. I’ve always seen it as my role as an artist to attempt to make wholeness.” We agree that it is the work of art and design to unite rather than to divide, to repair rather than to break, to heal rather than to wound. Now more than ever we must recommit to the values of a democratic society that inspire us to find strength in each other and make the world whole.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is committed to an equitable, just environment where the voices of all our students, faculty, and staff are valued and respected. As artists, designers, and scholars, we believe that every individual has something to offer and contribute, and in our work we continuously and peacefully reaffirm this truth, most especially when it is challenged or undermined by those who would deny it.

Now is the time to come together, to be generous with one another, and to share. To that end, we encourage you to join us this evening for a Post-Election Community Gathering in the LeRoy Neiman Center. Details are as follows:

Post-Election Community Gathering
Today, Wednesday, November 9
4:15–5:30 p.m.
The LeRoy Neiman Center

In the meantime, please remember that counselors are available through the Wellness Center to assist our students and through the Employee Assistance Program to assist our faculty and staff. 

We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing how each of you responds to the challenges we face. We can all make a difference. Our work starts now.

With hope,

Elissa Tenny
President

Craig Barton 
Provost