For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars.
For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top three graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as
06/03/2026
Celebrating 160 years of SAIC, the Magazine pairs historic and contemporary photographs side by side to trace the creative throughlines connecting generations of artists– curiosity, experimentation, artistry, rigor, and play woven from the past into the present.
See more: saic.edu/magazine/spring26/from-the-archives
Moana, Frozen, Wreck-it-Ralph, and more: SAIC alum and recent honorary doctorate recipient Amy Lawson Smeed (BFA 1997) is behind the scenes of your favorite Disney movies.
Read more: https://www.saic.edu/magazine/spring26/amy-smeed
Video: This in-progress scene from Frozen 2 gives an idea of the animation process.
Maddie Rogers (BFA 2020) shares some of her favorite local spots—plus a video tour of her storefront, Vintage House Chicago.
Learn more about Maddie Rogers' Chicago in SAIC magazine: https://www.saic.edu/magazine/spring26/maddie-rogers-chicago
What is art? The SAIC class of 2026 defines it. What does art mean to you?
04/27/2026
SAIC Career and Professional Experience - CAPX's final Career Talk of the semester offers an inside look at CHANEL’s creative culture and influence on the luxury industry.
Alum Blair Disbrow (BFA 2014) will share how the brand approaches craft and collaboration, as well as the skills and pathways that can help SAIC students pursue opportunities at CHANEL. Registration and details available on Handshake.
Friday, May 1, 3:30–4:30 p.m.
LeRoy Neiman Center, 37 S. Wabash Ave., first floor
04/23/2026
In Erin Minckley’s (Post-Bacc 2009, MFA 2012) Relativity Textiles studio, she designs, prints, and cuts wallpaper that also exists as art. Learn more about her process and advice for other artists in SAIC magazine: www.saic.edu/magazine/spring26/where-i-work-erin-minckley.
Seven SAIC community members named to Newcity’s 2026 Breakout Artists list. All seven are also included in a companion exhibition at Chicago Artists Coalition on view through Thursday, April 23.
Congratulations to Hai-Wen Lin (MDes 2023), Mauricio López F. (MFA 2025), Isabelle Frances McGuire (BFA 2016), Mariana Noreña G. (MFA 2023), Monika Plioplyte (MFA 2019), Lecturer Carina Yepez, and Sangwoo Yoo’s (MFA 2024)!
Read the fully story at the link in our bio.
Photos & artwork in order:
Hai-Wen Lin/Photo: Mrlo, Courtesy of McColl Center
Hai-Wen Lin, “fufufufufu”/Photo: Daisy Wu, courtesy of Centre for Cultural and Artistic Practices
Hai-Wen Lin, “Drobe,” courtesy of the artist
Mauricio López F./Photo: Frank Geiser and Malia Butler
Mauricio López F., “Gargantas”/Photo: Brook Hummer
Mauricio López F, “60625,” photo by the artist
Isabelle Frances McGuire/Photo: Lyndon French
Isabelle Frances McGuire, “Symbolic Birth Cabin Unit” at the Renaissance Society/Photo: Bob
Isabelle Frances McGuire, “Paranoia Sublime in the Wild Wild West”
Mariana Noreña G., courtesy of the artist
Mariana Noreña G, “320 fires” detail/Photo: Jonas Müller-Ahlheim
Mariana Noreña G. “Soil and Rain” 2025/Photo: Kat Bawden
Monika Plioplyte/Photo: Egon Schiele
Monika Plioplyte, “Keepers of Sun & Soil No.3,” mixed media collage on archival inkjet print, 31 x 45 x 5 in, 2025/Photo: Zacharias Abubeker
Monika Plioplyte, “I For Nested Pattern No.5,” photo-based performance, archival inkjet print, 30 x 44 in, Edition of 10 2 APs, 2020 – ongoing/Photo: Monika Plioplyte
Carina Yepez/courtesy of the artist
Carina Yepez “Chevita, Mi Corazón”
Carina Yepez “Tirso y las Milpas”
Sangwoo Yoo/Photo: Shawn Poynter, courtesy of Loghaven
Sangwoo Yoo “What Settles in the Lowest Layer,” 2025, discarded Christmas trees (dust, resin, incense), Douglas fir lumber, dimension variable
Sangwoo Yoo “Portrait of Loss ( time),” 2024, discarded Christmas tree, hourglass, plywood, wood, lint, bio-foam, 41 x 17 x 12 in
04/21/2026
TONIGHT! Join us for a lecture by artist Linda Sormin.
04/16/2026
Comedian Matteo Lane (BFA 2009) loves Fortnite, Carrie Fisher, and putting in the work. Learn more about Lane's "Obsessions" at saic.edu/magazine/spring26/matteo-lane-obsessions.
04/15/2026
Jeffrey Gibson (BFA 1995) will deliver the Commencement address to SAIC's 2026 graduating class on Monday, May 18, at the Wintrust Arena.
Gibson will receive an honorary doctorate alongside two other recipients: Robert Earl Paige (SAIC 1962)—a member of the Chicago Black Arts Movement whose work transcended boundaries among art, design, and craft—and Amy Lawson Smeed (BFA 1997)—who has endowed some of the 21st century’s most indelible characters with life as a leading animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
We look forward to celebrating SAIC’s class of 2026!