Text by CLOT Magazine
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is one of the USA’s oldest accredited independent art and design schools. It was founded as the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866 and has provided its students with a challenging education in the studio arts and exhibition opportunities since its inception.
SAIC is committed to embracing new technologies to expand the possibilities of existing artistic processes and engage with them critically. In this vein, the MFA in Studio: Art and Technology / Sound Practices (AT/SP) visionary curriculum fosters rigorous experimentation, robust research, and the interrogation of history and theory.
Students create future-facing works in a dynamic learning environment. With a legacy of more than 50 years of technological and sonic arts experimentation, the department is unique in its focus, history, and depth. Through courses, advisers and seminars, students can pursue a wide-ranging interdisciplinary path or focus on specific media, disciplines, or topics in the AT/SP ecosystem.
Technology and sound are viewed not only as media but as cultural materials with complex histories and ecological, social, personal, and philosophical implications. The MFA in Studio: Art and Technology / Sound Practices (AT/SP) focuses on using technology as a medium, and in doing so, alums have played central roles in important art movements such as the Regionalists of the 1930s and the Imagists of the 1960s.
Students can access a wealth of digital and analogue resources, purpose-built labs and studios, and expert support staff. These facilitate a wide range of practices, including creative coding, sound art, olfactory art, bio art, experimental music, acoustic ecology, installation, performance, AR, VR, games, kinetics, neon, holography, electronics, and more. This DIY and hacking philosophy is embodied throughout the curriculum, and works produced are often interactive, immersive, multisensory or hybrids of retro and cutting-edge technologies.
Application Deadline: SAIC offers a December 1 priority application deadline with a reduced application fee—final application deadline: January 10, 2024. Learn more and apply at saic.edu/ats.
