Teaching Fellowship
The Teaching Fellowship in the Visual Arts is a one-year program designed to enhance the pedagogical skills and extend the artistic practice of a current or recent DoVA graduate. Teaching Fellows join an academic community centered on teaching, art making, and professional development, drawing on guidance and support from the Division, the Chicago Center for Teaching (CCT), and the Director of the Teaching Fellowship Program.
Successful candidates are appointed as full-time Lecturers to teach four courses in the Arts Core at the undergraduate level during the academic year. Teaching Fellows are expected to advance their own artistic practice, participate in campus activities, and attend the four quarter-end critiques for MFA students and undergraduate critiques in the spring quarter. Fellows also participate in a program of pedagogical and professional development under the joint supervision of the CCT and the Director of the Teaching Fellowship Program.
Ground Floor: A Biennial Exhibition of New Art from Chicago
Ground Floor: A Biennial Exhibition of New Art from Chicago — so named because it provides a crucial platform for emerging artists and fills the entire lower level of the Hyde Park Art Center — is an ongoing biennial project that began in 2010. Based on nominations by respected members of the arts community, a selection committee of artists and curators identifies twenty artists representing notable concepts and techniques from the past two years of art production across Chicago's five MFA programs: Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The exhibition, accompanied by a publication, offers a single destination to discover diverse artists whose work demands to be seen and supported.
Arts Club of Chicago Fellowship
Every other year, the Arts Club of Chicago awards fellowships to emerging artists in the Chicago area. The Department of Visual Arts nominates a graduating student for inclusion in this competitive program. Arts Club Fellows are invited to participate in various programs and exhibitions hosted at the Arts Club of Chicago. Previous fellows include Brit Barton (2016), Takashi Shallow (MFA 2018), Daisy Schultz (2020), and Quichen Wu (2023).
EXPO CHICAGO
In past years, the Department of Visual Arts — in partnership with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts — has funded an exhibitor booth at EXPO CHICAGO, an international contemporary and modern art exposition, to support and showcase the work of a recent MFA graduating class. The exhibiting artists work closely with the Open Practice Committee Program Curator to propose and submit representative works for the four-day art fair held each year at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. Participation in the fair provides alumni with the opportunity to present their work to a local, regional, and international audience of artists, collectors, gallerists, and other contributors to the art world, while prompting them to consider the professional presentation of their work.
Outside Visitors
In the spirit of community building, DoVA alumni are regularly invited back by faculty and the OPC as visiting critics for Tuesday Night Critiques, Quarter-End Critiques, and Senior Seminars, as well as to give talks and conduct studio visits with MFA students. This serves as an opportunity for alumni to return and reconnect with the department while giving current students the chance to meet graduates who are now active contributors across various fields of the contemporary art world. Past OPC alumni talks have featured Devin T. Mays (MFA 2016), Dado (MFA 2014), Matthew Metzger (MFA 2009), John Preus (MFA 2006), Karen Reimer (MFA 1989), and an alumni panel on artist-run spaces.
Office of Career Advancement
Career Advancement provides University of Chicago students and alumni with experiential learning opportunities, employer connections, and access to jobs, internships, and other professional resources across a wide range of fields.