Master of Fine Arts in Studio
Performance saic.edu/performance
Renowned faculty Internationally renowned artists lead our department, and nurture students as independent practitioners, asking them to examine their practices through political, social, and philosophical lenses. Students are challenged to make bold statements in their work through experimentation and discovery.
One of the only graduate-level contemporary live art programs in the country, our Performance program cultivates artists who produce experimental work that reflects radically changing concepts of the body, time-based art, social practice, new media technologies, and the social and cultural conditions of a mobile society.
Professional experience and connections
Breaking boundaries Students engage in performance re-enactments, social justice and activism, abandoned practices, performance lectures, immersive technologies and social networking performance, tactical and site-specific performance, and choreographic actions. Rigorous approaches to assessment and critique are applied throughout the program, emphasizing structured dialogue and response. Our interdisciplinary approach is well suited to the fluid nature of performance, and students are encouraged to explore other SAIC departments to enhance their work.
Students are provided guidance for showings and curatorial projects, and have the opportunity to share their work through public events such as the annual fall New Blood Performance Festival and the spring IMPACT Performance Festival. Guest artists are regularly invited for symposia, workshops and individual graduate critiques. Representatives from organizations such as Franklin Furnace, Inc., Performa (NYC), SPILL International Festival of Performance (UK), City of Women (Slovenia), and the ANTI Festival (Finland) engage in dialogue about their work and share networks and postMFA opportunities.
For more information on the program and application requirements, please visit:
saic.edu/performance
Tilcara Webb It draws you in and mends the part of you that has a hole (photo by Ji Yang), IMPACT Performance Festival, 2024