CHICAGO, IL.- The School of the Art Institute of Chicago announced the creation of the Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists by the Claire Rosen and Samuel Edes Foundation. By establishing this prize at SAIC, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and DePaul University, the Edes Foundation's deep commitment to education and the arts in America will provide promising young artists and scholars with the financial means to focus exclusively on their work after graduation. "Today is an exciting day for SAIC and the Chicago community," notes SAIC President Wellington Reiter, FAIA. "This new prize is a generous addition to our cultural landscape and a demonstration of our wide-reaching vision and steadfast commitment to our graduates."

The new $30,000 fellowship prize at SAIC will be awarded in the spring of 2010 to a graduating student, and must be used to advance the recipient's professional career in the arts. "It is with deep gratitude for the foundation's vision and support that this prize will provide one of our students the ability to concentrate on advancing his or her career immediately following graduation. This award has the power to allow a young artist or scholar to catapult his or her work in a way that would be nearly impossible otherwise. We have so many extraordinary students that could benefit from a chance like this. The selection process will be very competitive," notes Interim Dean of Faculty Lisa Wainwright.

The rigorous yearlong selection process involves nominations from all full-time faculty, the recommendations of two candidates from each department by Department Chairs, and several rounds of jury review, leading up to the final selection of the recipient. Each student nominee is required to submit a proposal illustrating his or her plans to utilize the award for professional advancement, in addition to an artist statement, a CV, and examples of work.

Upon selection of five finalists, a jury composed of the SAIC Academic Steering Committee members will convene in April 2010 to interview the candidates about their professional development plans and review their proposals. The Academic Steering Committee jury is composed of:

• Lisa Wainwright, Interim Dean of Faculty
• Kitty Ross, Dean of Graduate Studies
• Joan Livingstone, Dean of Undergraduate Studies
• Peter Gena, Graduate Division Chair
• Beth Wright, Undergraduate Division Chair
• Paul Coffey, Associate Dean of Academic Administration
• Claire Ashley, Part-time Elected Faculty Representative
• Barbara DeGenevieve, Full-time Elected Faculty Representative
• Ann Tyler, Faculty Senate Chair
• Ed McNulty, Senior Vice President of Planning/COO
• Felice Dublon, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

The jury will select one recipient out of the five finalists by the end of April. The 2010 recipient of the Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists will be notified during the first week of May 2010 and the recipient's name will be announced during the 2010 SAIC Commencement Ceremony at Millennium Park.