Welcome to the Visual Resources Center
The Visual Resources Center provides imaging and research support for students and instructors in the Humanities and those working with visual materials. We can help develop high-quality images for teaching and research as well as providing art historical tools and materials through the Joel Snyder Materials Collection for use in classes. If you’re photographing work in the field, managing a personal archive, or looking to publish with images, ask the VRC about how we can help with these projects.
If You’re Looking for:
Imaging Services
The VRC manages LUNA—the main database for art images used for teaching at UChicago—and maintains several collections of art images for teaching and research. VRC staff also provide appointments for our lab equipment and consultations for image-based reference questions, photography and scanning advice, personal image management, fair use and copyright concerns, and visual literacy.
Pedagogy Support
The VRC can help support course projects using images through reference services and instructional sessions. Please contact the VRC to discuss your project and how we can customize our services to fit your needs. We also offer instructions on connecting to CWAC classroom projection and video conferencing equipment.
CWAC Exhibitions presents student- and course-curated exhibitions in the Cochrane-Woods Art Center. This opportunity provides a supported environment for short-term exhibitions on the University’s academic calendar. We encourage new curators, student artists, and those looking for additional curatorial experience in a non-traditional setting to apply.
Publishing Support
For students and faculty across departments looking for image or copyright support for publishing articles, books, or conference presentations, please see the Images for Publication page.
Personal Archiving
If you’re photographing work in the field or managing images for a dissertation, the VRC can support your work through camera lending for instructors and students in the Art History department, platform and metadata recommendations, and copyright advice.
Join a Workshop or Consultation
The VRC provides workshops on personal archiving, field photography, publishing, and more during the academic year. See upcoming workshops on the Art History Department events page and view notes from past workshops. If you would like to meet to discuss tailored strategies for managing your images and research, please email visualresources@uchicago.edu to meet with a VRC staff member.
