Newsroom

The latest at CCA

From student spotlights and faculty stories to recent media coverage and current events, catch up on what’s new.

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Media coverage / May 13, 2024

CCA alum Jose "Pepe" Mar dives deep into his alter ego Paprika

In an interview with BOMB Magazine, Pepe Mar (BFA Painting/Drawing, 2001) explores themes of identity, alter ego, and myth, exemplified by his retrospective exhibition Myth and Magic.

Installation view of Pepe Mar: Myth and Magic, 2023–24. Tampa Museum of Art. Tampa, Florida. Photo by Zachary Balber.

Media coverage / May 8, 2024

San Francisco’s unofficial fashion week is about to hit the runway

KQED looks behind the scenes with fashion students from CCA, San Francisco State University, and Academy of Art University, as they hustle to prepare for their annual runway show.

A shot from California College of the Arts' 2023 fashion show.

Media coverage / May 2, 2024

CCA student Kimberley D.C. Schroder founded a startup that connects you with a repair artist

MBA Design Strategy student Kimberley D.C. Schroder founded Nimble, a startup that connects you with a repair artist to fix your broken household goods.

Picture of a soldering iron.

Media coverage / April 17, 2024

How CCA alum Justin Marks founded the coolest skate shop in San Francisco

CCA alum Justin Marks (BArch Architecture, 2013) and SFAI graduate Zachariah “Turtle” Dawson founded Low Key, a storefront that serves as both a skate shop and an art gallery.

Justin Marks (L) and Zachariah ‘Turtle’ Dawson (R), co-owners of Low Key Skate Shop in the Tenderloin.

Media coverage / April 16, 2024

CCA alum Elena Calabrese reaches new heights with interior design

Elena Calabrese (BFA Jewelry/Metal Arts, 1995) pivoted creative lanes from accessory design to interior design, and founded her successful studio Elena Calabrese Design & Decor based in Sausalito, CA.

In the oval dining room nests a Julian Chichester table, custom Black Label Home chairs in Schumacher velvet and a custom rug by Ombre. The walls are painted Farrow and Ball’s Hague Blue, while the chandelier by Galerie Philia descends from a gold leaf painted ceiling by David Bonk.

Media coverage / March 4, 2024

NBC Bay Area news features CCA's multi-year partnership with Greenville where students help rebuild for resilience

Architecture faculty members Janette Kim and Peter Anderson, along with students Melissa Gomes, Bennett Grisley, and Manthan Rasal share about their Greenville projects and vision to rebuild for resilience, longevity, and sustainability.

Architectural rendering of a four-way intersection with a wood-framed modernist structure in the center.

Media coverage / Feb. 27, 2024

Artforum highlights Daisy Nam to lead CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts

Artforum shares more about Daisy Nam's previous role at Ballroom Marfa, where she has worked as a curator since 2020 and as director since 2022.

Daisy Nam sits on a white ladder with a desert backdrop behind her.

Media coverage / Feb. 27, 2024

San Francisco Chronicle spotlights Daisy Nam as the new director of CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts

CCA has named Daisy Nam the new director and chief curator of the school’s Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts museum.

Daisy Nam sits on a white ladder with a desert backdrop behind her.

Media coverage / Feb. 22, 2024

A futuristic half-story-tall sculpture by CCA Architecture professors displayed in Mission Bay

Orbital by Jason Kelly Johnson and Nataly Gattegno, both professors of Architecture, represents an era of rapid change and uncertainty, while also inspiring curiosity and playful interaction.

A tall, highly reflective serpentine structure that bounces sunlight from its geometric, shiny, stainless-steel tiles.

Media coverage / Feb. 6, 2024

CCA alum decorates his walls with heirloom farm tools

Navin Norling (BFA Illustration 1995) adds texture to his white walls with his grandfather's heirloom farm tools, representing a piece of the Norling family history and identity.

Photo of Navin Norling in his studio.

Media coverage / Feb. 1, 2024

KQED reviews Rodrigo Hernández’s with what eyes? at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts

Rodrigo Hernández’s show is a series of maze-like walls and enclosures with hand-hammered steel and sculptures, evoking the viewer to feel like they are just another animal in this dreamlike atmosphere.

Rodrigo Hernández, 'I would not think to touch the sky with two arms,' 2023 in 'with what eyes?' at the CCA Wattis Institute.

Media coverage / Jan. 18, 2024

CCA hosts a celebration party to welcome President David Howse

City leaders in the arts come together to welcome and celebrate President Howse at Villa Taverna in San Francisco. Nob Hill Gazette showcases some highlights and photos from the event.

Left to right: David Soward, David C. Howse, and Lorna Meyer Calas

Media coverage / Dec. 19, 2023

CCA faculty Neeraj Bhatia challenges the radical in architecture

Neeraj Bhatia, associate professor of Architecture, explores what it means for architecture to be radical. He underlines the need for design to impact community, policy, and environment.

Neeraj Bhatia in the exhibition, "New Investigations in Collective Form."

Media coverage / Dec. 18, 2023

CCA alum honors the legacy of sculptor JB Blunk with 100 Hooks

Architecture alum Mariah Nielson celebrates her father's legacy with a series of exhibitions, starting with 100 Hooks. The show reflects the breadth, playfulness and surprise that defined Blunk's practice.

Some of the hooks in the exhibition on display at Blunk Space, in northern California

Media coverage / Dec. 16, 2023

Dezeen features 10 CCA architecture student projects

Dezeen spotlights CCA student projects ranging from digital submarine habitats for oysters and fish to a pavilion that can be used for yoga or meditation.

Oyster Shingle by Ahmad Alajmi, Claire Leffler, and Colin Murdock.

Media coverage / Dec. 11, 2023

PBS streams How to Have an American Baby by CCA Film faculty Leslie Tai

How to Have an American Baby is a voyage into Chinese tourists traveling to the US to give birth for citizenship. A hidden global economy emerges, depicting the fortunes and tragedies to people caught in its web.

Image from "How to Have an American Baby" documentary

Media coverage / Dec. 6, 2023

CCA student covers San Francisco street poles with 1,000 mysterious flyers

What's one thing you know to be true in this world? MFA student Cole Ryder gathers hundred of answers by posting flyers around the city encouraging people to call the New Earth Hotline.

Flyers for the New Earth Hotline.

Media coverage / Nov. 10, 2023

Artist profile on Nathan Lynch Chair of the Ceramics Program at CCA

Square Cylinder profiles CCA faculty Nathan Lynch, highlighting his arts background and upbringing, the evolution of his artistic expression, and the humor behind his sculptures.

Ceramic sculptor Nathan Lynch w/Speech Aboard the Iceberg, 2021, glazed ceramic, 44 x 28 x  284 inches.

Media coverage / Nov. 8, 2023

CCA listed as one of the five best colleges near Marin County, CA

According to California.com, CCA is a premier art and design school that fosters a community of creative thinkers and innovators.

Exterior view of the front of CCA's main building.

Media coverage / Oct. 30, 2023

CCA alumni Arleene Correa Valencia's luminous art reflects the family strains of Mexican migration

Catherine Clark Gallery showcases Arleene Correa Valencia's (MFA Fine Arts 2020) exhibit, Naces Así, Naces Prieto. No Naces Blanco, inspired by letters exchanged with her father during their separation.

Arleene Correa Valencia, 'Papalotl: Sonadores En Busqueda de Amor Papalotl: Dreams In Search of Love,' 2022. Repurposed textiles on pink canvas.

Lindsay Wright

Director of Integrated Communications

+1 530-906-8805

[email protected]