visiting artist program

Founded in 1996, Illinois State’s Visiting Artist Program brings diverse artistic practices and voices to the Wonsook Kim School of Art. The Visiting Artist Committee seeks artists of all ethnic backgrounds, gender expressions, geographic locations, viewpoints, and practices. We welcome applicants who work in any medium.

Public Lecture and Studio Visits

• Each artist gives a public lecture on her/his/their practice and conducts private studio visits with undergraduate and graduate students.
• Lectures are generally held on Wednesday at noon in University Galleries located in Uptown Normal, a short walk from the Center for the Visual Arts.
• Visiting artists lectures generally range from 40 to 45 minutes with discussion following each talk.

Visiting Artist Seminar

• Each visiting artist teaches a weekly 2-hour seminar on a topic that the artist proposes. Seminars typically take place on Tuesday afternoon or evening.
• The Visiting Artist Program seeks artists who are excited to share innovative approaches to making art.
• Successful proposals encourage engagement in the social, cultural, intellectual, material, theoretical, or historical issues at the root of applicants’ working processes.
• The Visiting Artist Seminar is open to undergraduate and graduate students in the Wonsook Kim School of Art. It is the only course where students from all studio disciplines and levels of study gather, collaborate, and sustain dialogue.
• Students in the Visiting Artist Seminar work with multiple visiting artists each semester. This exposes students to a range of identities, viewpoints, ideas, and activities.

Residency Length

• Residency periods are based on the number of Tuesdays an artist is on campus.
• The length of residency offered is determined by the Visiting Artist Program. The ideal length of residency is six weeks.
• Applicants should prepare a seminar of up to 6 meetings but be able to shorten their proposal to as little as 3 meetings.
• Residency periods typically begin the Monday evening before the first Visiting Artist Seminar taught by each artist and end the Wednesday morning following the last seminar class taught by each artist.