Deepen your understanding of the great art of the past, present, and future by joining one of the Art Institute's affililate groups. Each group also fosters an appreciation for private collecting through lectures, meetings, and special events related to its mission. Information about how to join a group can be found on each group's individual page.

Architecture & Design Society
The Architecture & Design Society enhances the understanding and appreciation of architecture and design through a dynamic program of lectures, architectural tours and special events, receptions, and viewings, making architecture and design accessible to a wider audience. The group also promotes the activities of the Department of Architecture and Design with fiscal support for acquisitions, exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

Asian Art Council
The Asian Art Council (AAC) supports the Department of Asian and Ancient Art and acts as a forum for education and discussion about Asian art—from ancient to modern—through lectures, demonstrations, gallery walks, and visits to private collections. The AAC provides financial support for acquisitions of Asian art objects, and members are able to voice their opinions of artwork selections at the Annual Meeting.

Auxiliary Board
Founded in 1973, the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago is the oldest arts auxiliary board in the nation. This dynamic group of 60 young civic and business leaders is committed to fostering an appreciation of the museum's collection with new audiences and increasing membership and financial support to the museum.

Classical Art Society
The Classical Art Society supports the Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art. Founded in 1986, the Classical Art Society funds lectures, special events and projects, and artwork acquisition.

Community Associates
Community Associates foster membership by promoting adult education in the visual arts and encouraging communities to build closer relationships with the museum. Programs are presented with the support of the Department of Museum Education and focus on the museum's collection and exhibitions through lectures in individual communities and arranged trips to the Art Institute.

Evening Associates
The Evening Associates are a group of Art Institute members, mainly young professionals, who gather about once a month to enjoy a lively mix of art and entertainment. They enjoy exclusive museum gatherings, gallery walks, black-tie affairs, and other "after-five" events throughout Chicago, reveling in the city's vibrant art and social scene.

Friends of Indian and Islamic Art
Friends of Indian and Islamic Art is a group of Art Institute of Chicago members interested in supporting works of art from India, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Islamic worlds. While the group's primary goal is to enable the purchase of artworks of the highest quality, its members also enjoy private collection viewings, luncheon lectures and discussions, and other special events and opportunities.

Friends of the Libraries
The Friends support the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries and its programs—acquisitions, conservation and preservation, exhibitions and publications—and attract gifts to strengthen the research collections of the libraries. Member activities include previews of book exhibitions with related lectures, special viewing of the rare book collections and archives, behind-the-scenes tours of the libraries, programs on conservation and preservation, and visits to special collections in Chicago.

Leadership Advisory Committee
The Leadership Advisory Committee (LAC) supports the museum in all matters relating to the engagement and advancement of African Americans in the life of the institution. Diversity in vision, collections, exhibitions, staffing, and audience is critical to the future and well-being of all American cultural institutions, and the LAC is committed to engaging the broadest and most diverse audience in support of this ambition via marketing, development, and educational programming.

Old Masters Society
The Old Masters Society (OMS) supports the collection and activities of the Department of Medieval through Modern European Painting and Modern European Sculpture through the funding of acquisitions, the presentation of programs that foster understanding of the great art of the past, and the encouragement of private collecting. The society's events include exhibition previews, receptions, dinner and luncheon lectures by distinguished scholars, and curator-led walking tours.

Photography Associates
The Photography Associates, a forum devoted to the art and appreciation of photography, help to support the collection and activities of the Department of Photography at the Art Institute through the funding of acquisitions, the presentation of programs that foster understanding of photography, and the encouragement of private collecting. Associates enjoy private dinners three times yearly: twice in the company of a prominent artist and once at the home of a notable collector in the Chicago area. Photography Associates members also receive invitations to at least one special exhibition opening.

Print and Drawing Club
The Print and Drawing Club supports the Department of Prints and Drawings by presenting programs that foster a deeper appreciation for paper artworks from all periods and by encouraging private collecting. In addition to exclusive trip invitations to museum exhibitions, private collections, and art galleries, members receive a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of one of America's leading print rooms and its internationally renowned collection.

Society for Contemporary Art
The Society for Contemporary Art (SCA) promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the art of our time. Monthly programs provide members access to an exciting roster of leading national and international artists, dealers, critics, historians, and curators, as well as visits to distinguished private collections locally and abroad. On an annual basis, the entire membership votes to purchase one or more objects for the museum's permanent collection.

Textile Society
The Textile Society furthers the appreciation of textiles by sponsoring lectures, supplementing departmental acquisition funds, assisting with special publications and exhibitions for the Department of Textiles, and encouraging private collecting. Members are invited to exclusive events, previews of textile exhibitions, special museum and departmental programs and lectures, and study trips to view collections.

_{Man Ray. Tanja Ramm, 1929. Julien Levy Collection, Special Photography Acquisition Fund.}