Chatham University’s Student Artist Collective is not your traditional student organization. Based in promoting values of a collective body rather than a hierarchical structure of most student organizations, the SAC emphasizes group conversations and collaborations through student-led art shows, increasing art accessibility on campus and hosting open studio time.
Sully Pelles ‘25, one of the SAC’s main points-of-contact, spoke about their response to the request for student officers as a collective.
“We all found fun, silly titles for us because we didn’t want to make a vertical hierarchy for like, someone as a president and a vice president. We wanted to keep it horizontal in terms of organization,” Pelles said.
Pelles is officially recognized as the SAC’s assistant regional jester and influencer. Other titles include Sebastian Mull ‘25 as the executive bouncer and CEO, Elizabeth Bablak ‘27 as the czar and fellow Communiqué contributor Emily Brooks ‘27 as the secretary of silliness.
The structure of the SAC not only manifests itself in the creative titles of the organization, but also its relationship with faculty advisor James Louks.
“I’m the faculty advisor, but I basically tell them what they can’t do, essentially to help with things and give advice, but it’s very much student-led,” Louks said.
A large part of the student work is having open conversation with everyone interested in art, no matter their major, background or educational history.
“On the note of projects, we try to facilitate a space where, if someone has an idea for a project, they can come in and find other people who are interested in doing that,” Pelles said.
The strong focus on group work and collaboration rather than a student’s major or past experiences allows for more participants as well.
“The SAC brings artists together, between courses, mediums and other areas of focus. I am glad for this because if the SAC’s scope was more restricted, I probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy the collective as someone without a Studio Arts focus,” Mull said in an email interview.
The SAC has also hosted events catering to the wider student body, such as collage nights and a DIY tote bag event in which students decorated recycled tote bags with paint.
“We’re always happy to have more people come to the meetings, and if you ever have any sort of art project or event that you would like to see happen on campus, coming to the meetings and pitching them is a great way to make it happen,” Pelles said.
More information regarding the SAC can be found on its Instagram page @Chatham_sac. The group meets at 4:15 p.m. on Thursdays in Room 206 in the Art & Design Center.
