Are you an immigrant artist? South Asia Institute is initiating the Immigrant Creative Mentorship Program aimed at fostering artistic growth and professional development within Chicago’s Immigrant arts community.

The initiative will build long-term partnerships between arts organizations, academic institutions, and South Asia Institute. Together, we will foster creative expression, champion underrepresented voices, and contribute to a more inclusive and diverse cultural landscape in Chicago and beyond.

Come to our monthly meet ups to network, share your creative experiences, and receive feedback or guidance from established immigrant artists.

Interested in registering? Contact info@saichicago.org to be added to the mentorship emailing list.

About the Speaker

Aliza Shvarts is an artist and theorist who takes a queer and feminist approach to reproductive labor and language. Her current work focuses on testimony and the circulation of speech in the digital age. Her work first came to international attention in 2008 she was an undergraduate at Yale and the university censored her senior thesis, which dealt with self-managed abortion. This early work defined an area of inquiry she continues to explore as an artist and arts advocate: how the body means and matters, and how the subject consents and dissents.

The Immigrant Creatives Mentorship is supported by Terra Foundation for American Art.