Designer Artist Citizen Site: Exploring Belonging is an exhibition featuring the work of twenty School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) students on themes of citizenship and the built environment. The students, both undergraduate and graduate, represent departments from across the school including Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects; Art Education; Fiber and Material Studies; Painting and Drawing; Sculpture; and Visual and Critical Studies. The student works, each of which is presented through a large textile banner and a physical artifact, explore themes of immigration, ecology and the agency of plants, nationalism and national identity, queer spaces and violence toward queer people, and forms of belonging produced by architecture and urbanism.

Capturing a range of interdisciplinary media and methodologies, the works in Designer Artist Citizen Site: Exploring Belonging produce challenging responses to the question, “What does it mean to be a citizen today?” This exhibition explores the topic through the lens of emerging student art practices—critical and from the front lines, both fierce and fragile.

Student Exhibitors

Adnan Faysal Altunbozar, Tizzie Baldenebro, Cat Bluemke, Mary Do, Andrea Hunt, Ashley Hooker Jons, Junxi Lu, Lanye Luo, Kathia Muniz-Rios, Axel Olson, Alberto Ortega, Meera Rampalli, Xavier Robles Armas, Daniel Salamanca, John Stevens, Kekeli Sumah, Vince Tong, Karen Wang, Raven Xu, and Tinglei Zhang.

Organizers

Iker Gil and Ann Lui

Exhibition Coordinator

Heidi Metcalf

The exhibition runs from May 21 until May 31 at the Cultural Flow Zone of the Università Ca’Foscari. unive.it/data/27319/

Opening Reception: May 24, 5:00–7:00p.m.

This event is a partner program of the Dimensions of Citizenship.