Art to Live With
An art loan program, exclusively for University of Chicago students
Art to Live With: Sunday, October 12
Check-in: 10:00 am | Doors: 11:00 am
Art to Live With offers UChicago students living in residence halls the unique opportunity to borrow original works of art to display in their dorm rooms.
This fall, 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!
Table of Contents
• Important dates and times overview
• Browse the collection available for a 2025-2026 loan
• Art to Live With Preview Days
• FAQs
• How to return your artwork
• About the collection
Updated summer 2025
2025 overview ,
• Review the detailed schedule and FAQ below
• Preview Days: Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th 10am-4:30pm
• Art to Live With!: Sunday, October 12th
• Check-in is at 10am, Doors (first group enters the museum) at 11am
BROWSE THE COLLECTION
Browse the Art to Live With collection online for an up-to-date preview of this year’s selection of works available for loan. To see the artworks in person, stop by during Preview Days.
Art to live with Preview Days
Friday October 10th and Saturday, October 11th, 10:30am-4pm
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 exhibitions, Theaster Gates: Unto Thee and Smart to the Core: Wise to Power.
FAQS
How do I participate in Art to Live With?
Come to the Smart Museum courtyard Sunday, October 12th 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 during Art to Brunch With!
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 12th 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?
A valid UChicago Student ID, your housemates for good company!
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 12th at 10am
Where can I get live updates from the line?
Tune in to the smart museum Instagram link for timely updates throughout Art Match.
They all look so great! Can I borrow more than one?
We appreciate your enthusiasm, but you can only borrow one artwork per year.
I won’t be here fall quarter, but I still want to participate. Can I borrow it later in the year?
As much as we’d like to say yes, artwork can only be borrowed during Art Match in the fall.
This sounds awesome, how much does it cost to borrow?
Luckily for you, works are loaned at no cost for the duration of the academic year.
Who hangs the artwork in my room?
You do! We provide Command Hooks and a handling and hanging sheet that guides you through the process.
Can I hang it in my House lounge or common room?
Nope! Artwork can only be hung in your bedroom. It may not be hung in any other location including apartment living rooms, suite entryways, bathrooms, kitchens, and house lounges.
If I move to a new room, or leave campus, what happens to the artwork?
Contact Lauren Payne (laurenpayne@uchicago.edu). 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 Museum. 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 (laurenpayne@uchicago.edu). If the frame is unstable, lay the artwork on a flat, clean surface.
I still have questions!
Great! Contact Lauren Payne (laurenpayne@uchicago.edu) 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, 5th and Wednesday, May 6th 2026
10 am–3 pm
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.
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
“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, Orkideh Torabi, and Amanda Williams.
