Facilities & Resources

Sculpture Department Facilities and Resources

The Sculpture department allows students to exhibit their work in various venues. The Base Space is a research space to extend the practice of sculpture and its critique. It can be used for documentation, installations, experimental projects, and presentations. An outdoor courtyard may be used for the presentation of objects and installations, and there are dedicated classrooms for critiques and discussions. The department also supports off-campus work, including collaborative exhibitions and community-based projects in public and environmental art contexts.

Students in SAIC's Sculpture department have access to:

• A comprehensive woodshop
• A metal shop with hot and cold fabrication capabilities that include gas, MIG, TIG, arc forging, and CNC plasma cutting
• Digital fabrication facilities, including 60 and 150 watt laser cutting machines and 3D printers
• A foundry equipped to pour bronze and aluminum into ceramic shell, sand, and classical investment molds. Iron pours take place off campus.
• Mold-making shop with rotocaster, vacuum chamber, and high-vent capacities
• Industrial sewing machines
• A PC-based computer lab with Intuos Cintiq tablets for 3D visualization, GIS, modeling, and animation development
• Indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces
• An organic outdoor garden
• Large individual graduate studios

The 280 Digital Fabrication Studio (DFS) is a general access laser cutting lab located in RM 126 of the 280 S. Columbus Drive Building. Sculpture students are heavy users of this studio which includes Trotec laser engravers, Ultimaker 3D printers, a Cricut plotter cutter, digital fabrication tools, and computers. 

The SAIC foundry is equipped to pour bronze and aluminum into ceramic shell, sand, and classical investment molds. Iron pours take place off campus.