WELCOME

I am thrilled to welcome you to the 2022 graduate exhibitions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Here you’ll find a culmination of long hours in the studio, deep engagement with materials and texts, and intense discussion with colleagues and faculty. I am so proud of our grads for the ways in which they have navigated the difficult time in our world, dedicating themselves to their work and each other. They have worked through tremendous challenges, when art is both under-resourced and sorely needed. More than ever, we need artists and thought leaders if we are to survive and thrive, as a collective. Our grads have honed technical skills and made formal breakthroughs in and out of their studios, and redefined the relationship between thought, society, and the material world. With the artwork here, our graduates ask the community to join them to imagine new worlds, sustain empathy, and be playful and resourceful. I congratulate this cohort on their resilience and am eager to hear where they go next.

Delinda Collier, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies