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School of the Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and school, SAIC has been accredited since 1936 by the Higher Learning Commission, by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 1944 (charter member), and by the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) since the association's founding in 1991. Additionally it is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. In a 2002 survey conducted by Columbia University's National Arts Journalism Program, SAIC was named the "most influential art school" in the United States.[2]

For the art museum, see Art Institute of Chicago.

Type

1866 (1866)

141 full-time
427 part-time

3,532

2,894 (Fall 2018)[1]

745 (Fall 2018)

Its downtown Chicago campus consists of seven buildings located in the immediate vicinity of the AIC building. SAIC is in an equal partnership with the AIC and shares many administrative resources such as design, construction, and human resources. The campus, located in the Loop, comprises chiefly five main buildings: the McLean Center (112 S. Michigan Ave.), the Michigan building (116 S Michigan Ave), the Sharp (36 S. Wabash Ave.), Sullivan Center (37 S. Wabash Ave.), and the Columbus (280 S. Columbus Dr.). SAIC also holds classes in the Spertus building at 610 S. Michigan. SAIC owns additional buildings throughout Chicago that are used as student galleries or investments. There are three dormitory facilities: The Buckingham, Jones Hall, and 162 N State Street residencies.

History[edit]

The institute has its roots in the 1866 founding of the Chicago Academy of Design, which local artists established in rented rooms on Clark Street. It was financed by member dues and patron donations. Four years later, the school moved into its own Adams Street building, which was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.


Because of the school's financial and managerial problems after this loss, business leaders in 1878 formed a board of trustees and founded the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. They expanded its mission beyond education and exhibitions to include collecting. In 1882, the academy was renamed the Art Institute of Chicago. The banker Charles L. Hutchinson served as its elected president until his death in 1924.[3] The school grew to become among the "most influential" art schools in the United States.[4]


Walter E. Massey served as president, from 2010 until July 2016.[5] The current president is Elissa Tenny, who formerly served as the school's provost.[6]

Chicago Architects Oral History Project[edit]

In 1983, the Department of Architecture began the Chicago Architects Oral History Project. More than 78 architects have contributed.[8][9]

Demographics[edit]

As of fall 2018, the student enrollment at SAIC is demographically classified as follows:[10]


Total Enrollment: 3,640


Undergraduate students: 2,895


Graduate students: 745


Sex:


Female: 74.3%


Male: 25.7%


International and ethnic origin:


International students: 33% (countries represented: 67)


United States students: 67%, further subdivided as follows:


White: 32.6%


Hispanic: 10.4%


Asian or Pacific Islander: 8.9%


African American: 3.3%


American Indian: 0.2%


Multiethnic: 2.8%


Not Specified: 8.4%


Geographic distribution of United States students:


Midwest: 41.2% (includes 8.8% from Chicago)


Northeast: 16.5%


West: 19.4%


South: 22.8%

Activities[edit]

Visiting Artists Program[edit]

Founded in 1868, the Visiting Artists Program (VAP) is one of the oldest public programs of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Formalized in 1951 by Flora Mayer Witkowsky's endowment of a supporting fund, the Visiting Artists Program hosts public presentations by artists, designers, and scholars each year in lectures, symposia, performances, and screenings. It showcases work in all media, including sound, video, performance, poetry, painting, and independent film; in addition to significant curators, critics, and art historians.[11]


Recent visiting artists have included Catherine Opie, Andi Zeisler, Aaron Koblin, Jean Shin, Sam Lipsyte, Ben Marcus, Marilyn Minter, Pearl Fryar, Tehching Hsieh, Homi K. Bhabha, Bill Fontana, Wolfgang Laib, Suzanne Lee, and Amar Kanwar among others.[12]


Additionally, the Distinguished Alumni Series brings alumni back to the community to present their work and reflect on how their experiences at SAIC have shaped them. Recent alumni speakers include Tania Bruguera, Jenni Sorkin, Kori Newkirk, Maria Martinez-Cañas, Saya Woolfalk, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Trevor Paglen, and Sanford Biggers to name a few.[13]

Ranking[edit]

In a survey conducted by the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University, SAIC was named the "most influential art school" by art critics at general interest news publications from across the United States.[2] The school has a graduation rate of 68%.[18]


In 2017,[19] U.S. News & World Report's college rankings ranked SAIC the fourth best overall graduate program for fine arts in the U.S. tying with the Rhode Island school of Design. In January 2013, the Global Language Monitor ranked SAIC as the #5 college in the U.S., the highest ever for an art or design school in a general college ranking.[20]


In 2020 and 2021, U.S. News & World Report[21] ranked SAIC as the second best overall graduate program for fine arts in the U.S. tied with Yale University. In 2021, the university was ranked the seventh globally according to the QS World University Rankings by the subject Art and Design.[22]

280 South Columbus (classrooms, departmental offices, studios, Betty Rymer Gallery)

37 South Wabash (classrooms, main administrative offices, Flaxman Library)

112 South Michigan (classrooms, departmental offices, studios, ballroom)

7 West Madison (student residences)

162 North State (student residences)

164 North State Street ( Film Center)

Gene Siskel

116 South Michigan

This is a list of property in order of acquisition:


SAIC also owns these properties outside of the immediate vicinity of the Chicago Loop:


SAIC leases:

(United Kingdom)

Glasgow School of Art