Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Performance

The Department of Performance at the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. The position begins in August of 2025. Salary is competitive with peer institutions and commensurate with quality of practice, scholarship, academic research, extent of teaching experience, and current professional standing.

Program Profile

The Department of Performance at SAIC is unique in the United States, bringing a performance and performance studies curriculum to both undergraduate and graduate students in an interdisciplinary art school setting. Building on a foundation of experimentation, the Department of Performance evolves in relation to new developments inside and outside the field of performance, and aims to be responsive to new ways of seeing and understanding the world in the 21st century.

Our curriculum combines intensive studio practice with rigorous critical, theoretical, and historical study to inform aesthetic choices and expression. Our interdisciplinary approach builds on a broad range of performative modes, including live action, performance installation, movement research, tactical and site specific performance, interactive digital technologies, critical/activist social and political performance, performing the non-human, social justice, abandoned practices, archive and ritual, and performative writing.

Further information about the department can be found at: https://www.saic.edu/performance

Responsibilities

Full-time faculty in the Department of Performance teach and advise undergraduate and graduate students within the interdisciplinary art and design school environment of SAIC. The faculty member will teach in areas that contribute to the general curricular goals of the department as well as in their area of specialization, using an anti-racist and decolonial framework to develop coursework; take a leadership role in forging the future of the department and the School; work effectively, flexibly, and ethically with diverse communities of artists, educators, and students across SAIC and Chicago, as well as nationally and internationally; participate in student advising, admissions events, committee work, and special projects; and participate in departmental administration and school governance.

Questions

Questions regarding the School and its open positions, application procedures, or the search process may be emailed to saicteach@saic.edu. Please consult www.saic.edu for information on the School and its programs, or https://www.saic.edu/about/work-at-saic for open positions and application procedures.

About SAIC

A leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars since 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs to students from across the globe. Located in the heart of Chicago, the School is one of the largest and oldest private schools of art and design in the country with programs reflecting current practices in art. SAIC’s educational philosophy is built upon a transdisciplinary approach to art and design that provides unparalleled opportunities for students to develop their creative and critical abilities with renowned faculty who are leading practitioners in their fields. SAIC’s resources include the Art Institute of Chicago and its Modern Wing, and numerous special collections and programming venues that provide students with exceptional exhibitions, screenings, lectures, and performances. The campus is located on Chicago’s magnificent lakefront amid the city’s cultural and architectural treasures.

Degree tracks include the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio; BFA with Emphasis in Art Education or Writing; BA degrees in Art History and Visual and Critical Studies; Master of Architecture; Master of Design (MDes) in Designed Objects; MFA in Fashion, Body, and Garment; MFA in Studio or Writing; MA degrees in Arts Administration; Art Education; Art History, Theory, and Criticism; Art Therapy; Teaching; Visual and Critical Studies; and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Art Institute of Chicago, including both the school and the museum, is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for its students, visitors, faculty, and staff, and to ensuring that educational and employment decisions are based on an individual’s abilities and qualifications. The Art Institute of Chicago does not tolerate unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or former military status, or any other status protected by federal, state or local law, in its programs and activities, public accommodations or employment practices. The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator
Lakeview Building, 116 S. Michigan Ave., 12th floor, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.499.4165, title9@saic.edu

For further information on notice of nondiscrimination, see the Office for Civil Rights Discrimination for the address and phone number of the office that serves your area, or call 800.421.3481.

Requests for Accommodations

SAIC provides reasonable accommodations during the interview process for candidates with disabilities in adherence with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Should you need an accommodation to participate in an interview, please contact Molly Roth Scranton, Associate Director of Faculty Affairs, at mscranton@saic.edu.

Requirements

Qualifications

A strong record of performance practice is required. A terminal degree in performance or other relevant field of study is preferred. Experience in teaching is preferred. The ideal candidate will contribute to the diversity of the School by bringing a perspective, way of thinking, and/or a unique set of experiences that expand the intellectual conversations and practices in the field. We seek candidates with the knowledge and aptitude to teach and mentor students from diverse backgrounds, and who will create a positive, inventive, and productively critical learning environment. Candidates should demonstrate their experience with, or aptitude for, departmental administration.

They seek an interdisciplinary, contemporary performance artist with expertise and significant output in one or more of the following areas:
● Live art / Performance Art
● Social practice
● Post-studio practice
● Art intervention
● Digital/multimedia
● Extended reality
● Immersive/site specific
● Expansive choreographic practice
● Queer disabilities studies and practice
● Race politics, social justice practice
● Queer theory and Feminist theory
● Archival inquiry and ritual

They are looking for a performance artist who engages and demonstrates the following:

● Vibrant and continuing artistic practice that engages with contemporary developments in the field of performance.
● Ability to combine creative practice with critical enquiry into contemporary issues and to articulate these in a teaching context.
● Experience combining a wide range of methodologies and artistic disciplines within an art school context; commitment to interdisciplinary practices.
● Ability to work effectively, flexibly, collaboratively, and ethically with diverse communities of artists, educators and students across the School, Chicago, Nationally and Internationally.
● Interest and capability in working with an anti-racist and decolonial framework to develop coursework; commitment to challenging Western training conventions and hierarchies of knowledge; and ability to incorporate sustainable practices and values in observance of building anti-racist production models.
● Interest in collaboratively and individually building new curricula and contributing to the articulation of the future of the area of Performance.