In May 2001, I graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with a BFA in Studio Art. At the graduation ceremony, DJ Spooky was a featured speaker and was awarded an honorary degree. While at SAIC, my focus was in Transdisciplinary Studies with a concentration on performance and puppetry.
While at SAIC, I was awarded the Merrit Scholarship and The Art of Leadership award. I studied a broad range of art including performance, puppetry, video art, sound art, site-specific installation, photography (analogue and digital), sculpture, drawing, painting, creative writing, and art history, theory, and criticism.
Some highlights were the Earthworks Study Trip to see land art in the Southwest with Simon Anderson and The Puppetry Institute with Blair Thomas; an appearance on Oprah, and mentorship from Barbara De Genevieve, Allison Rutan, Freedom Lialios, Jennifer Reeder, and Marylin Houlberg who taught an art history class in body arts.
I worked as an administrative assistant in the Art History, Theory and Criticism Department, and held an internship N.A.M.E. Gallery, where I went on to be part of the Time Arts Committee, curating Speak Easy.
I had a number of frequent collaborations with Kathleen O’Shea (Feet, Day of Beauty, Gender Trash & Other Cookies, Date Rape: The American Classic) and Fausto Ferños (King of Pop’s New Clothes, The Wig Show, and later his podcast, Feast of Fun).
For the final Undergraduate Exhibition I created an installation of puppets and dolls.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America’s largest accredited independent schools of art and design. It is located in the Loop in Chicago, IL. The school is associated with the museum of the same name, and “The Art Institute of Chicago” or “Chicago Art Institute” often refers to either entity. Providing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, SAIC has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top two graduate art programs in the nation, as well as by Columbia University’s National Arts Journalism survey as the most influential art school in the United States.