As the 21st century unfolds, new discoveries in science and technology have transformed our lives, some are awe inspiring but others are scary. We live in a globally connected world, inundated daily with news of the potentially devastating consequences of human actions. While humanity faces a perilous virus, the inequities and injustices of our world become not merely inexcusable but intolerably vivid. How have we got to this state of being? And can artistic practice better sensitize us to emergent challenges? Art is a powerful tool to redress and reimagine our world. At this extraordinary time, the distress of the challenges we face may be an opportunity to rewire our collective consciousness. If we are to do so in a more just and caring direction, then artists will be central to that transformation. Welcome to The Future of Our Plans.
This online showcase, a collaboration between our most recent alumni, and SAIC’s faculty and staff reimagines the end of year exhibitions associated with the passage of SAIC’s graduates from students to being cultural “evolutionaries” in the world.
Each day throughout August 2020, an invited arts professional selected three graduates to highlight. Browse the archive of viewing recommendations here.
These works jumped out at me for their joy, for the obvious pleasure that the maker takes in the process of making with other persons and other things of the world, for the idea of playful composition and experimentation embodied in them, for the presence of material-based thinking, for the risks and the vulnerability implied, for the ways in which bodies meet the world. In each case there seem to be profound questions being asked about what the limits of the work are and what sorts of categories and ways of looking and being in the world can be transformed through the work of art.
These thematic tags serve as words for grouping the presented work around prevailing themes addressed by this year’s class of graduates. Each artist, designer, and scholar has selected the words to associate with their page, creating interesting groupings of work around these concepts.
Graduate Dean and SAIC faculty member Delinda Collier in conversation with Robyn Farrel, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Former dean of faculty and SAIC faculty member Lisa Wainwright in conversation with Hamza Walker, faculty member in the Low Residency MFA program and Director of LAXART.