Eia Radosavljevic

Associate Professor, Adj., Fashion Design

Eia Radosavljevic has been teaching at SAIC since 1999. She took her sabbatical during the 2021 Spring Semester.

Eia Radosavljevic is a fiber artist whose current work comprises millinery materiality and a dialog of object as displayed versus worn. Radosavljevic’s previous dance career presents in the work as immanent movement within form, and a forage into writing poetry is now instrumental in her process. Eia Millinery Design opened in New York City in 1991 and continues in Chicago as a bespoke design firm.

As an educator, Radosavljevic has lectured at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Australia’s International Millinery Forum on multiple occasions. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Chicago History Museum and the Staten Island Museum of Arts, and have been exhibited at ARC, Flatfile and Thomas Masters galleries in Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center, Mudman Gallery in Montana, the Cultural Arts Center of Columbus, Palos Verdes Art Center and St. Kilda Town Hall in Melbourne. She is a member of the Fulbright Specialist Roster through 2024.

Education

2023 MFA (expected), School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2017 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1991 Millinery Certificate, Fashion Institute of Technology

Notable Classes Taught:

Sculptural Headwear
3D Embellishment
Head Space: Advanced Millinery
Form in Fabric

Sabbatical Reflection

Teaching at SAIC for over 20 years finally qualified me for a one-semester paid leave, but then my ambitious international study plans were interrupted by pandemic travel cancellations. Further problems ensued, even making productive studio time impossible. All that being said, a short break from an ever-increasing workload as non-tenure track (NTT) faculty is invaluable recharging time! Perhaps it is even more beneficial for those labeled part-time, who arguably bear a more fatiguing work-to-compensation ratio than our full-time/tenured colleagues.

Primarily what the short break did for me was provide a moment to step back and view the big picture, prompting me to introduce something fresh to my professional life by enrolling in SAIC’s Low-Residency MFA program. In our two-tier system, a full-year sabbatical surely allows an enviable amount of time for personal and professional development, but especially lately when availability is expected of NTT faculty year-round, even a short three-month suspension of duties can rejuvenate, benefitting faculty and subsequently their students.

-Eia Radosavljevic, Associate Professor, Adj., Fashion Design