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Public Programs at Nichols Tower

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) hosts programs for the North Lawndale community in our 12th-floor classroom at Nichols Tower in Homan Square. Courses, workshops, and events are offered in a variety of formats and for audiences age nine to adult. Select the links below to learn more about current and future opportunities.


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2023 Youth Sneaker Design Lab

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 1/1/23 Sneaker Design Lab is a 5-week workshop for ages 14-18. In this course, students will learn how to restore an old pair of sneakers left in their closet and give it a personalized touch. Learn about the different materials, care, and processes to achieve the best results so that their shoes can stand out from the crowd.They will also learn about entrepreneurship as a small business owner. Students will get a new pair of sneakers to design during the workshop!

2023 Youth Sneaker Design Lab

Date(s):
January 21—February 18 
Time:
Sa 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Instructors:
  • Aaliyah Irby

Sneaker Design Lab is a 5-week workshop for ages 14-18. In this course, students will learn how to restore an old pair of sneakers left in their closet and give it a personalized touch. Learn about the different materials, care, and processes to achieve the best results so that their shoes can stand out from the crowd.They will also learn about entrepreneurship as a small business owner. Students will get a new pair of sneakers to design during the workshop! DEADLINE TO APPLY: 1/1/23

This course has been filled
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Spring Youth Open Studios January 30th, 2023

Join us for Open Studios at Homan Square. Enjoy free and fun art-making workshops, explore, relax, and work on personal art projects using a wide variety of art materials.

Spring Youth Open Studios January 30th, 2023

Date(s):
January 30—April 24 
Time:
Mo 4:15 PM- 6:15 PM

Instructors:
  • Ash Busse
  • Izze Ortiz

Join us for Open Studios at Homan Square. Enjoy free and fun art-making workshops, explore, relax, and work on personal art projects using a wide variety of art materials.

Teaching artists will be in the studio to talk with students about their work and help with any questions, including offering technical demonstrations and workshops with a variety of materials.

Register Here
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Context and Contrast in Photography Workshop

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to photograph interesting buildings and people. Through research, attendees will also learn additional context that can heighten and change powerful images.

Context and Contrast in Photography Workshop

Date(s):
October 5—October 26 
— 
Time:

Instructors:
  • Jay Simon
  • Will Quam

In this workshop, you’ll learn the skills of architecture photography with photographer Will Quam by using professional equipment to photograph buildings in North Lawndale. You’ll also learn how to pose, light, and photograph people with portrait photographer Jay Simon. In their own practices, Will and Jay have used storytelling, historical research, and collaboration to tell stories that go beyond the image. You’ll learn the tools that they use and engage with examples from other professionals to make your own work that tells a deeper story. Attendees will collaborate with each other to create a final photographic project.

This course has been filled
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Yoga and Meditation Workshop

Mindfulness + Yoga will give participants trauma-informed foundations to mindfulness and yoga through experiential learning, journaling and group discussions in a safe environment.

Yoga and Meditation Workshop

Date(s):
October 5—November 23 
— 
Time:

Instructors:
  • Shea Gardner

Mindfulness + Yoga will give participants trauma-informed foundations to mindfulness and yoga through experiential learning, journaling and group discussions in a safe environment. Each week, we will build skills and tools to help navigate and manage stress, promoting peace and positivity for overall well-being. In partnership with the Chicago Sinfonietta, musical performers will visit the last session in November. That same day, we will host a health and wellness expo to feature wellness practitioners’ work and experience different activities like food, nutrition, massage, breathwork, and herbalism.

This course will take place during 8 weeks, between October 5 and Nov 23, 2022.

The course will be taught by Shea Gardner, a Chicago based Spiritual Sociologist, Trauma-Informed Mindfulness and Yoga Teacher, Writer and founder of the 501c3 Maroon Village.

RSVP and registration needed.

This course has been filled
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Writing Workshop with Keli Stewart

Instructors:
  • Keli Stewart

Writing Workshop with Keli Stewart

Date(s):
June 1—June 29 
Time:
We 6-7:30 PM

Instructors:
  • Keli Stewart

The West Side Writing Workshop is a creative writing circle focused on West Side narratives. Participants are invited to gather and write collectively to explore personal and community identity, local oral histories, and family narratives. In the context of this project, writing serves as both a community archive and a site for imagining future possibilities. Writing participants will be invited to present their writing and engage with the larger neighborhood through public presentations of their writing, activating non-traditional Westside spaces and infusing art into the landscape.

Register Here
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Walking the Walk: Photography Workshop

Instructors:
  • Akinbode Akinbiyi
  • Alexy Irving
  • Isra Renee Pate

Walking the Walk: Photography Workshop

Date(s):
May 4—May 25 
Time:
We 4 PM-6:30 PM

Instructors:
  • Akinbode Akinbiyi
  • Alexy Irving
  • Isra Renee Pate

Photography class taught by Akinbode Akinbiyi, Alexy Irving, and Isra Pate

The first 3 classes will have group walks in North Lawndale. The last class will print photos, review arts works, and celebrate.

The walk is open-ended with cameras to hand. Students can look at and engage with the empty lots, the planted gardens, the architecture, with the sidewalks of a thriving neighborhood of Chicago.

Students will develop visual skills in identifying what it is that draws one into taking and making a photograph. The inner eye that watches everyday life, seeing images in the pavement, streets, and thoroughfares of the borough. Slowly walking then gradually taking in the environment to become visually sensitive to the surroundings.

Register Here
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Blue Circles: Community Quilting Workshops

Instructors:
  • Amanda Harth

Blue Circles: Community Quilting Workshops

Date(s):
April 16—May 7 
Time:
Sa 11 AM-2 PM

Instructors:
  • Amanda Harth

In this 4-session workshop, we will learn about traditional indigo dyeing, quilting techniques, and the relation they have with Black histories in America and beyond: What do quilts, and denim have in common, and why are they relevant when thinking about Chicago’s Westside identity? Working hand in hand with designers Michael White, Amanda Harth and artist Alexandria Eregbu, we will create two unique collaborative denim and indigo dyed quilts that highlight each of the participant’s relationship to the Westside.

Register Here
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Writing Workshops with Keli Stewart

Instructors:
  • Keli Stewart

Writing Workshops with Keli Stewart

Date(s):
March 16—April 20 
— 
Time:

Instructors:
  • Keli Stewart

The West Side Writing Workshop is a creative writing circle focused on West Side narratives. Participants are invited to gather and write collectively to explore personal and community identity, local oral histories, and family narratives. In the context of this project, writing serves as both a community archive and a site for imagining future possibilities. Writing participants will be invited to present their writing and engage with the larger neighborhood through public presentations of their writing, activating non-traditional Westside spaces and infusing art into the landscape.

March 16th-April 20th
Wednesdays, 6-7:30 PM

Register Here
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Lawndale Civic Design

Instructors:
  • Ash Busse

Lawndale Civic Design

Date(s):
March 21—June 13 
Time:
Mo 4-6:30 PM

Instructors:
  • Ash Busse

Lawndale Civic Design is apart of The Walkability Assessment Initiative Kedzie-Homan (WA|K-H) program. This paid programs gives high school students/young adults the opportunity to make a positive impact in their community. In 2022, we will work with the Chicago Department of Transportation to focus on the intersection between Homan and Harrison. Using principles of tactical urbanism, neighborhood students will develop and design interventions for the bump outs, curb cuts, sidewalk and the street itself.

March 21st-June 13th
Mondays, 4-6:30 PM
No Class on April 11 and May 30

Register Here
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Spring 2022 Youth Open Studio

14-18 yrs old

Spring 2022 Youth Open Studio

Date(s):
January 18—April 5 
Time:
Tu 3PM-6PM

Audience:
14-18 yrs old

Join us for Open Studios at Homan Square. Enjoy free and fun art-making workshops, explore, relax, and work on personal art projects using a wide variety of art materials.

Teaching artists will be in the studio to talk with students about their work and help with any questions, including offering technical demonstrations and workshops with a variety of materials.

Register Here
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Write Your Book: Novels and Memoirs

Instructors:
  • Imani Josey

Write Your Book: Novels and Memoirs

Date(s):
March 23—April 27 
Time:
Sa 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Instructors:
  • Imani Josey

This is a workshop tailored for writers working on memoirs or novels of any style and genre, featuring weekly lessons and critique sessions. The class is for writers of all levels, especially those interested in working with group feedback. It is the companion workshop to fall’s “Write Your Book” session but having taken the first class is not a requirement. Classes will consist of both a lecture about the writing the process and weekly group critiques of student work in a safe and uplifting environment. In this interactive five-week series, you will receive insider knowledge through hands-on workshops. You will learn how to:

Write a winning first chapter
Push through the murky middle of your book
Identify areas for improvement
Work with fellow writers
Build your confidence

When the five sessions are done, you will have a clear direction for your project and instructions from an author who has already done it. This isn’t a class to sit back and watch. Come ready to develop your idea! 81% of Americans want to write a book, but only 1% of Americans will ever publish one. Let’s get you into that 1%.

Note: This workshop does not meet on April 20. Workshop dates are March 23 and 30; and April 6, 13, and 27.

Sign up now!
School of the Art Institute
of Chicago
SAIC @ Homan Square
906 S. Homan Ave., 10th floor
773-638-2712
homansquare@saic.edu
saic.edu/cs
© 2017 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Apply Now
  • More information

Public Programs at Nichols Tower

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) hosts programs for the North Lawndale community in our 12th-floor classroom at Nichols Tower in Homan Square. Courses, workshops, and events are offered in a variety of formats and for audiences age nine to adult. Select the links below to learn more about current and future opportunities.

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