Family Weekend 2025

Friday, October 17th, 2025

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Family Weekend Welcome Reception

Location to be announced

Please join SAIC Leadership, staff, and faculty for a reception to start our Family Weekend activities. Hor d'oeuvres, beer and wine will be served. Vegan and gluten free options will be avalible.

Saturday, October 18th, 2025

9:30 AM - 10:15 AM, Coffee with Jiseon Lee Isbara, President of SAIC

MacLean Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Avenue

Join us in our historic SAIC Ballroom as we begin Saturday events. President Lee Isbara will offer some remarks before your first classes in the morning.

Family Weekend CLASSES:

With the purchase of your ticket ($100 per person) to Family Weekend, you will sign up for classes, ranging from Bookbinding to Photography to Screen printing. Make sure you sign up for the specific classes you would like to attend as you are checking out!

*SAIC students may participate in all family weekend activities free of charge. They do not need to register. For classes, students may need to participate along with their family member and may not have their own separate workspace, depending on the space in an individual class.

*Persons with disablitlies requesting accomodations should visit saic.edu/access

Classes listed below:

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, Choose ONE from the options below:

Art Explorations Bookbinding:

Come make your own sketchbook! This fun and informative class will explore bookbinding and experimental artists' book forms. Participants will walk out with their own handmade and hand-bound sketchbooks!

Understanding Fabric for Fashion:

In this 90 minute session, we will examine woven cloth as the basis for garment and fashion making. This session will include an introduction to fabric, weave and fiber, as well as learning simple hand stitching techniques for working with and manipulating cloth. We will also be looking at designer garment examples from SAIC's Fashion Resource Center to contextualize these concepts and techniques.

Sequences, Iterations, and Permutations (SIP) in Printmedia:

In this workshop students will explore sequences, iterations, and permutations in art through the lens of printmaking. Instead of art making that leads to one thing, this class is about making a collection of artworks that engage with the power of iteration (building upon previous forms, where information is lost and gained through making). This workshop will begin with a lecture then students will make a series of artworks utilizing primarily drawing and printmaking techniques.

How to Make a Better Photograph:

Workshop participants will learn traditional photographic principles of composition, such as the rule of thirds, active and passive frame, and various design concepts that cross into the photographic field. The first portion of class time will be spent in lecture with a demonstration, followed by a field trip in the Loop with actual shooting time, an introduction to Adobe Photoshop, and then a critique of images. Please bring either a camera phone or a digital camera.

Concepts, Context and Contemporary: Why Is Art So Hard to Understand?

Not sure what makes art art? Come check out a crash course in contemporary art history! Participants are introduced to the vast practices, methods, materials, and strategies used by contemporary artists today.

Letterpress Bookworks:

Learn how printing was done before computers! Hand-set a phrase using the Letterpress Studio's vast collection of lead and wood type. Pull a print on sumptuous paper with our rare presses. Feel the sculptural impression only letterpress can make.

Screen Printing 101:

Make your mark. In this introduction to screen printing you will learn about the relationship between mark making and printing. You will learn what to consider when making marks and how to translate that work to a screen, ultimately becoming a printed work. The history of this process will be explored through guided demonstration and hands-on making.

Ama-ZINES!:

A single sheet of paper holds infinite possibilities! In this hands-on workshop you'll learn several different ways to create a book form out of a single sheet of paper, see examples of unique book structures in mini-comics and zines, and examine how format and function work hand in hand.

Learn about the Critique Process:

The Critique Process is a critical part of your student’s academic life at SAIC. Learning how to support and justify their work will improve their art practice and provide them with a toolbox of professional skills. This session will help educate you about critiques, so you can better support your student and their art practice.

12:00PM - 2:00PM, Lunch on your own and/or with your student!

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM, Choose ONE from the options below:

Art Explorations Bookbinding:

Come make your own sketchbook! This fun and informative class will explore bookbinding and experimental artists' book forms. Participants will walk out with their own handmade and hand-bound sketchbooks!

Art Institute of Chicago Museum Tour:

Join AIC adjuncts for a Highlights Tour of the Art Institute of Chicago. You'll see icons of the museum's collection as well as some lesser known treasures. This tour will include a look at the renowned Modern Wing. This tour is only offered in the afternoon session.

Understanding Fabric for Fashion:

In this 90 minute session, we will examine woven cloth as the basis for garment and fashion making. This session will include an introduction to fabric, weave and fiber, as well as learning simple hand stitching techniques for working with and manipulating cloth. We will also be looking at designer garment examples from SAIC's Fashion Resource Center to contextualize these concepts and techniques.

Sequences, Iterations, and Permutations (SIP) in Printmedia:

In this workshop students will explore sequences, iterations, and permutations in art through the lens of printmaking. Instead of art making that leads to one thing, this class is about making a collection of artworks that engage with the power of iteration (building upon previous forms, where information is lost and gained through making). This workshop will begin with a lecture then students will make a series of artworks utilizing primarily drawing and printmaking techniques.

How to Make a Better Photograph:

Workshop participants will learn traditional photographic principles of composition, such as the rule of thirds, active and passive frame, and various design concepts that cross into the photographic field. The first portion of class time will be spent in lecture with a demonstration, followed by a field trip in the Loop with actual shooting time, an introduction to Adobe Photoshop, and then a critique of images. Please bring either a camera phone or a digital camera.

Concepts, Context and Contemporary: Why Is Art So Hard to Understand?

Not sure what makes art art? Come check out a crash course in contemporary art history! Participants are introduced to the vast practices, methods, materials, and strategies used by contemporary artists today.

Letterpress Bookworks:

Learn how printing was done before computers! Hand-set a phrase using the Letterpress Studio's vast collection of lead and wood type. Pull a print on sumptuous paper with our rare presses. Feel the sculptural impression only letterpress can make.

Screen Printing 101:

Make your mark. In this introduction to screen printing you will learn about the relationship between mark making and printing. You will learn what to consider when making marks and how to translate that work to a screen, ultimately becoming a printed work. The history of this process will be explored through guided demonstration and hands-on making.

Ama-ZINES!:

A single sheet of paper holds infinite possibilities! In this hands-on workshop you'll learn several different ways to create a book form out of a single sheet of paper, see examples of unique book structures in mini-comics and zines, and examine how format and function work hand in hand.

Learn about the Critique Process:

The Critique Process is a critical part of your student’s academic life at SAIC. Learning how to support and justify their work will improve their art practice and provide them with a toolbox of professional skills. This session will help educate you about critiques, so you can better support your student and their art practice.

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