An art loan program for UChicago students
Art to Live With
Students choose from specially designated artworks, including new acquisitions selected by our Art to Live With Acquisitions Committee. Works will be loaned at no cost for the duration of the academic year. Discover a collection curated for student dorm rooms and find your match!
Read below for info, schedules, and FAQs for the 2026–2027 loan period and mark your calendars for Sunday, October 11th!
Updated summer 2026
2026 overview
• Review the detailed schedule and FAQ below
• Preview Days: Tuesday October 6th to Saturday October 10th from 10am-4:30pm
• Art to Live With!: Sunday, October 11th
• Check-in is at 10am, Doors (first group enters the museum) at 11am
Presented by the Smart Museum of Art with generous support from Greg Wendt, AB’83,
who once borrowed an Art to Live With print by Sven Lukin, and Joseph R. Shapiro, EX’34,
the program’s original benefactor. Additional support has been provided by Dolores and Donn Shapiro.
Art to Live With Preview Days
Tuesday, October 6th to Saturday, October 10th, 10:30 am–4:00 pm
Pop-up exhibition of the collection on view in the Smart lobby
Come by the Smart to preview this year’s available artwork for Art to Live With! While you are here, check out the Smart’s on-view exhibitions, including teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity, Nina Chanel Abney: Between Us, and How Do We Heal?
Sunday October 11th, Check-in: 10:00am; Doors: 11:00am
Come to the Smart Museum courtyard Sunday, October 11th by 10am and get your spot in line. Once you have checked in to secure your place, meet new friends, strategize your pick, and enjoy food and entertainment!
Please note: There will NOT be multiple check ins this year. Places in line are first come first served!! The first and only check-in to secure your spot is Sunday, October 11th at 10am.
The line will begin under the Smart’s east portico near the main entrance, and curve into the courtyard. While you are lined up, an Art to Live With staff member will give you a sticker representing your place in line. Once you have your sticker, you will check in at the center table to confirm with staff that you live in campus housing. Once checked in, you can break out of line to enjoy Art to Brunch With until it’s your turn to enter the museum!
When we are ready to let the first group into the museum, you will be asked to line up in order.
What do I need to bring?
What about camping?
Due to updated UChicago Event Policies, CAMPING OVERNIGHT IS NOT PERMITTED. To secure your place in line be sure to be present for check in Sunday, October 11th at 10am
They all look so great! Can I borrow more than one?
I won’t be here fall quarter, but I still want to participate. Can I borrow it later in the year?
This sounds awesome, how much does it cost to borrow?
Who hangs the artwork in my room?
Can I hang it in my House lounge or common room?
If I move to a new room, or leave campus, what happens to the artwork?
Contact Lauren Payne ([email protected]). If you move within the dorm, the artwork moves with you. You will receive new Command Hooks to rehang the artwork, and must provide your new room number. If you are studying abroad, you must return the artwork to the Smart. Please arrange in advance with Lauren Payne.
If the artwork is accidently damaged, what should I do?
Do not try to fix it—you risk damaging the work further. Immediately contact Lauren Payne ([email protected]). If the frame is unstable, lay the artwork on a flat, clean surface.
What's the best way to stay connected to the Smart Museum and news on Art to Live With?
You can sign up for the Smart’s newsletter here. We can’t wait to stay in touch!
I still have questions!
Great! Contact Lauren Payne ([email protected]) for more information.
No one will walk away empty handed!
Due to the popularity of Art to Live With, it is possible you may not have a chance to select a piece from the collection to hang in your dorm room. If that’s the case, you will receive a limited-edition takeaway instead.
Returning your artwork
Return Days
Tuesday May, 4th and Wednesday, May 5th 2026
10 am–3 pm
“The enjoyment of art is something that multiplies by division…share it with people and it becomes a communal experience, a motivational force for drawing people together.”—art collector and alumnus Joseph R. Shapiro
The Art to Live With collection was established at the University of Chicago in 1958. The core of the original collection was assembled by alumnus Joseph R. Shapiro and includes works on paper by modern American and European artists, including Marc Chagall, Eleanor Coen, Margo Hoff, Fernand Léger, Matta, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, and Georges Rouault. These works continue to cirulate through dorm rooms each year as part of the loan program. In recent years, the Smart, with input from UChicago students, has also worked to expand the Art to Live With holdings and broaden the collection’s scope. Now, it also includes works by an array of contemporary artists working in Chicago and globally, such as Bethany Collins, Ann Hamilton, Ester Hernandez, Jenny Holzer, Judy Ledgerwood, Faheem Majeed, Takashi Murakami, Pope.L, Barbara Rossi, Ynka Shonibare CBE RA, Orkideh Torabi, and Amanda Williams.
