i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects
Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture with emphasis in Interior Architecture
production. In 2009–10 it was amended that architecture students would not participate in
Critique Week during their first year, but rather present their work within classroom settings
as more appropriate to the work produced in the first year.
f) Collaborative projects
While the case has been made for collaborations and transdisciplinary courses being
encouraged at the School, the new design programs have made way for a host of even more
ambitious collaborative projects involving multiple departments at the School as well as the
community beyond the School. These are described more fully in the next section of the APR,
on page 21.
g) Intellectual resources
From SAIC’s nationally recognized Visiting Artists Program and exhibition record to the
depth of the AIC’s libraries, collections, and architecture-specific programming, AIADO has
incorporated existing resources into its curriculum.
h) Lectures
Below find brief descriptions of the Institution’s many lecture programs.
o Visiting Artist Program (VAP)
Formalized in 1951 with an endowed fund from Flora Mayer Witkowsky and partially
funded by the Illinois Arts Council, the VAP hosts public presentations by artists to
foster a greater understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through discourse
through semester-long, multi-event lecture series as well as multiple individual
presentations by artists and designers during fall and spring semesters.
o AIADO lecture series
The Grayce Slovet and William H. Bronson Mitchell Lecture Fund in Interior Architecture
brings two to three prominent practitioners to the School each year for its endowed
lecture series.
o AIC’s Architecture and Design Society
The Art Institute of Chicago’s Architecture and Design Society supports the many and
varied activities of the Department of Architecture and Design. Of particular interest, it
has become highly visible for its superlative record in organizing architectural exhibitions
and publications.
i) Exhibitions
Below find brief descriptions of the Institution’s many exhibitions spaces:
o AIADO exhibition spaces
Display spaces in the AIADO department in the Sullivan Center, 36 S. Wabash Avenue.
o Sullivan Galleries
The Sullivan Galleries—a 55,000 square foot space housed in the same building as
AIADO—feature exhibitions, performances, lectures, and screenings by SAIC students,
faculty and other international artists.
o Betty Rymer Gallery—280 South Columbus Drive.
The Rymer Gallery offers 2,700 square feet and features exhibitions by SAIC students,
faculty, and other international artists.
o Student Union Galleries
In the two Student Union Galleries—LG Space and Gallery X—SAIC students participate
substantially in all facets of gallery operations and drive programming decisions in con-
sultation with a faculty advisor.
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