Mission & History
Founded in 1994, SITE, once known as the Student Union Galleries (SUGs), is a student-run organization at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) for the exhibition of student work. The two central tenets of the galleries are to build relationships between different departments and stakeholders throughout the institution and strengthen our role as a teaching gallery within and beyond SAIC. This is accomplished first through providing a consistent space for undergraduate and graduate directors to organize and generate exhibitions that realize the vision of student artists. Furthermore, with strategic programming, SITE supports these exhibitions and engages evolving currents and discourses in our communities. The student-led structure provides opportunities for emerging artists and scholars to explore artistic and administrative methods by placing emphasis on collaborative processes and professional practice in and out of the classroom.
Prior to 1994, there were few spaces on SAIC’s campus to accommodate the display of student work. The only opportunity for students to exhibit was a space off campus called “Gallery II.” Student artworks would line the walls, vitrine cases, and classrooms in the 280 building.
A November 1994 F News article stated:
“The School has a turbulent history when it comes to the exhibition of student art. David Nelson. Dread Scott. Aimee Beaubain. Some students have actually had to fight to show their work or to protect the School’s negligence in showing student work in general, and many more students have complained about the terrible shortage of exhibition options at the School until now”
– Matt Sylvie
That same year, SITE was founded due to the efforts of SAIC’s student government. Spearheaded by students Iain Muirhead and Amavong Panya who were advised by faculty member, Michael Ryan, the team acquired four spaces around campus dedicated to exhibiting student work. They were Gallery X, Lounge Gallery, Atrium Gallery, and space on the 8th floor of the Sharp building. Since then, SITE has supported the professional development of roughly 80 student staff members, produced over 260 exhibitions, and has served more than 850 student artists.
Although SITE has evolved and undergone many transformations in terms of structure and approach, it has kept its core values – student run, student work. Today, SITE receives oversight from the Exhibition and Exhibition Studies department while still maintaining its autonomy to create student focused projects. As a teaching gallery, SITE’s mission is to educate all members of the SAIC community who wish to participate in exhibition making – be it as student directors, curators, and/or artists.
Every semester, SITE accepts exhibition proposals for its two gallery spaces: SITE Sharp, our flagship space, and SITE 280. Enrolled students are encouraged to apply for an exhibition at least once during their time at SAIC. Each semester, SITE hosts proposal workshops to prepare students for the SITE proposal process, and individually assist and work through the specifics of building an exhibition, from the show narrative to installing work for exhibition. Students can also be a part of the team by taking up leadership positions as Gallery Directors and Gallery Assistants. SITE is a co-learning organization where knowledge is shared and transferred between student staff and exhibiting artists. SITE proudly continues to grow as a resource for the SAIC community.
Book Release – SITE Galleries: 30 Years of Student-Led Art, Exhibitions, and Archives
Edited by Matthew Cortez
With contributions by Trevor Martin, Michael x. Ryan, Michelle Davó Ortiz, Joseph Josué Mora, Mariana Mejía, Stephanie Cristello, Allison Glenn and Michelle Grabner
This publication was created on the occasion of SAIC’s SITE Galleries 30th Anniversary and includes three history sections discussing the gallery’s pedagogical approach and notable exhibitions and events while connecting them to larger discussions such as censorship in the 90’s. Following these sections are special contributions by SAIC alumni artists, curators, and SAIC professionals who have come through the gallery that address a range of topics in contemporary discourse including the unseen labor of art handlers, curation as experimentation, and the potential of galleries as systems of care. Contributors include Director of the 30th Anniversary Matthew Cortez (BA 2025), scholar Michelle Davó Ortiz (Dual MA 2024), Senior Lecturer Michael X. Ryan, and Executive Director of Exhibitions and Senior Lecturer Trevor Martin (MFA 1998). Special contributors include Crown Family Professor in Painting and Drawing Michelle Grabner, curator Allison Glenn (Dual MA 2012), curator and author Stephanie Cristello (BFA 2013), curator and archivist Mariana Mejía (MA 2022), and artist Joseph Josué Mora (BFA 2018).
Library and Institutional Locations
Museum of Modern Art Library | New York City, NY
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas J. Watson Library | New York City, NY
New York University Institute of Fine Arts Library | New York City, NY
Pratt Institute Library | Brooklyn, NY
Bard College | Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Princeton University Firestone Library | Princeton, NJ
Harvard University Fine Arts Library | Cambridge, MA
College of the Holy Cross Cantor Art Gallery | Worcester, MA
Rhode Island School of Design Fleet Library | Providence, RI
Temple University Tyler School of Art and Architecture Library | Philadelphia, PA
Yale University Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library | New Haven, CT
Library of Congress | Washington D.C.
Cranbrook Academy of Art Library | Bloomfield Hills, MI
Indiana University at Northwest John W. Anderson Library | Gary, IN
Indiana University at Indianapolis Herron Art Library | Indianapolis, IN
Indiana University Bloomington Eskenazi Museum of Art | Bloomington, IN
Transylvania University Library | Lexington, KY
Savannah College of Art and Design Jen Library | Savannah, GA
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Flaxman Library | Chicago, IL
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Joan Flasch Library | Chicago, IL
Art Institute of Chicago Ryerson & Burnham Library | Chicago, IL
National Mexican Museum of Art Library | Chicago, IL
University of Chicago Regenstein Library | Chicago, IL
Harold Washington Community College Library | Chicago, IL
Columbia College Chicago Library | Chicago, IL
DePaul University Library | Chicago, IL
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Urbana, IL
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Golda Meir Library | Milwaukee, WI
University of Wisconsin at Madison Kohler Art Library | Madison, WI
Bemis Center for Contemporary Art Clare Haas Library | Omaha, NE
Otis College of Art and Design The Millard Sheets Library | Los Angeles, CA
California Institute of the Arts | Valencia, CA
University of California at San Diego Geisel Library | San Diego, CA
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Address
SITE Sharp Gallery
37 S. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL, 60603
SITE 280 Gallery
280 S. Columbus Drive
Chicago, IL, 60603
Hours
Monday – Friday: 12:00 – 6:00 pm
Saturday and Sundays: Closed