Students from Around the World Collaborate on Quarantine Self-Care Magazine

When the COVID-19 pandemic meant that School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) students in Associate Professor Kirsten Leenaars’s class had to return home, they pivoted and created a final project inspired by the situation—from around the globe.

Take Care, a magazine dedicated to self-care and caring for others during the pandemic, is the final product from Leenaars’ class, Research Studio II: Imagine All The People. With assistance from alum Sonia Yoon (MFA 2002), an LA-based book designer, the class used free concept board technology to collaborate simultaneously on the design, from Mountain View, California to Shanghai, China. The quarantine-inspired collection of artwork, poems, playlists, and more features sections such as “If you need a laugh,” “If you miss somebody,” and “What day is it?”.

“We wanted to create a space for you to feel, think, cry, meander, dance, laugh, scream, and vent. We are reimagining what taking care of ourselves and others truly means, now and in the future,” reads the magazine’s opening letter from the student contributors. “We hope that sharing the ways we are processing, acting, and responding to this time might help you as well. You are not alone.”