ABOUT ME
Simone Athena Scigousky (She/They)
is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Chicago, IL. After graduating from SAIC in 2022 with a B.F.A.A.E, Scigousky has taught visual art at Walter Payton College Prep High School, Gallery 37, and currently teaches an After School Matters program, Teen Arts Council, at Arts + Public Life.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I believe the foundation of a successful student-teacher relationship is built upon open collaboration and communication. I nurture my students’ desire to play an active role in their learning by providing opportunities to contribute to important classroom functions, such as the creation of community agreements, developing their social-emotional skills through community building. This encourages students to take ownership over their classroom and readily approach their responsibilities, creative processes, and overall role as a visual arts student.
Accompanied by the Artistic Thinking Process framework, I prioritize the development of interdisciplinary methods, skills, and techniques to empower students' self expression and communicative abilities. Regardless of artistic experience and/or technical skill, I believe any student can approach art-making through investigation of their personal perspective and past experiences. I do this through incorporating social justice approaches and topics, specifically restorative justice theory and Artivism, within an interdisciplinary art curriculum. Through these strategies, I seek to facilitate a supportive and engaging learning environment where students are motivated to experiment, explore, and ultimately express themselves.
Teen Arts Council (TAC) Summer 2024 program marches with Arts + Public Life (APL) & South Side Home Movie Project in the Bud Billiken Parade.
TAC student discusses his artwork with guest at APL's Spring 2024 Showcase
TAC students and guests view student artwork exhibited in the Fall 2023 Showcase at APL.
TAC Summer 2024
South Side Home Movie Project x TAC: Bud Billiken Banners
Over the Summer 2024 term, TAC explored the visual, historical, political, and cultural intersections between African American and African visual art from across the global diaspora. Students investigated the significance of Pan-Africanism, the Black Arts Movement, and contemporary Black artists and collectives. This knowledge prepared students for their collaboration with South Side Home Movie Project (SSHMP) in which they were tasked with creating three original banners to represent SSHMP in the 95th Bud Billiken Parade. Students utilized embroidery, appliqué, piecing, and hand/machine sewing to construct banners that pay homage to the history of the Bud Billiken Parade and SSHMP’s mission and values.
If you had limitless resources, technology, and mobility, how would you redesign Chicago for the better? Inspired by the work of Afrofuturist sculptor and visual artist Bodys Isek Kingelez, students worked collaboratively to construct “extreme maquettes” (extreme models) based on their local communities, neighborhoods, and the greater city of Chicago.
Students learned...
- Sculpture, mixed media, drawing, and design techniques/skills.
- How public artwork that reflect themes of racial justice, gender equality, queer acceptance/love, radical joy, and the culture of the local community can strengthen, inspire, and uplift its residents.
- The history of Chicago’s city planning and architecture to reflect on Chicagoans' modern day experiences and how to improve Chicago for its current and future residents.
ASM Summer 2023
Printmaking & Protest at Gallery 37
Over the Summer 2023 term, students developed advanced printmaking skills and techniques to create culturally and socially responsive artworks. Students explored art as a tool for self-empowerment, community organization, and social justice advocacy. For their final project, students designed, carved, and printed original, multi-layered protest posters. Each poster advocates for or protests against a topic personally relevant to each student.
Walter Payton College Prep High School: Fall 2022
Monsters, Marginality, and Mark Making
Payton Students in Painting and Drawing I & II studied the drawing techniques, color theory, and visual storytelling present in Emil Ferris' My Favorite Thing is Monsters to create own monster self-portraits. This project prompted students to reflect on the graphic novel's themes of self-expression and marginality as they re-envisioned themselves as surreal creatures and monsters.
Students learned...
- To synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
- To produce a range of hues and values by cross-hatching with primary colors.
- Observational and anatomical drawing skills to create accurate facial proportions.
Artist Robert E. Paige guiding TAC Summer 2024 students through his exhibition The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige at the Hyde Park Art Center
TAC students guiding guests through the Fall 2023 Showcase at APL.
Hyde Park Art Center Resident-Artist Kushala Vora providing a tour of their studio to TAC Fall 2023 students.
Arts + Public Life, Teen Arts Council, and South Side Home Movie Project marching in the 95th Bud Billiken Parade.
Thanks for Visiting
Contact me at scigouskys@Gmail.com