Sydney Austen

Writer | Curator

About Me

Hello! I’m Sydney. I am a professional museum nerd, frequent writer of nonfiction and poetry, and enthusiastic maker-of-things. I’ve curated exhibits of contemporary art at the Windgate Museum of Art at Hendrix College, the Marshall T. Steel Center, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve worked with vast collections at the Clinton Presidential Library, the Historic Arkansas Museum, and Hendrix College. I’m a crack shot at identifying American license plates from a distance, a skill I’ve picked up on visits to 36 states and four Canadian provinces.

I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I also work as a teaching assistant. This blog is where I share stories, updates, and experiments. Thank you for visiting.


  • My Top 5 Spots In the Art Institute of Chicago

    “It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look – to affect the quality of the day, that is the highest…

  • Why I’m Starting This Blog

    I should start by saying: Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.  In all honesty, I have no idea how to keep a blog, but I don’t think anyone else does either. My strategy as it stands is to commit to being painfully earnest, so bear with me. For this and for everything, thank you for reading. …