
Celebrating the makers of 2023
Visit our online exhibition of groundbreaking work by graduating and thesis students from across the college, find end-of-year events, and connect with us on social media.
Discover
Makers ready to meet tomorrow
Congratulate the creative and intellectual achievements of CCA’s next generation of architects, artists, critical thinkers, designers, historians, filmmakers, photographers, and writers by exploring their work in the 2023 Showcase.
The capstone projects shown here empower us collectively to challenge the status quo and remind us how everyday themes such as humor, dreams, hope, and play help anchor our connection to one another.
These graduates and thesis students have made work that makes a difference. Now, they’re ready to act and change the world.
Spotlights
Recognizing outstanding student contributions

The deans of CCA’s four academic divisions selected students whose submissions to the 2023 Showcase demonstrate excellence in theory and practice.
A special note of welcome from the deans
Commencement is a significant milestone of personal and academic achievement. For the Class of 2023, it is also a marker of their enormous tenacity and strength. A new generation of CCA-educated artists, architects, curators, designers, strategists, filmmakers, and writers has emerged. We’re honored to share the work of these exceptional graduates through the Class of 2023 Showcase.
This year marks our first year of unification in San Francisco teaching and learning together on campus in our labs, studios, and galleries. These students have created work that is deeply compelling and ambitious. Their accomplishments attest to their perseverance and passion as well as their commitment to making art and design that matters.
Now more than ever, we value these students’ critical insights and will rely upon their creative energy to envision new ways of being and making during these rapidly changing times. We’re eager to see where their practices take them. They will undoubtedly continue to transform the world, and our experience of it, through their craft, care, and vision.
To our new graduates: we applaud you. Congratulations, Class of 2023!
— Dean of Architecture Keith Krumwiede, Dean of Design Helen Maria Nugent, Dean of Fine Arts Sunny A. Smith, and Dean of Humanities & Sciences TT Takemoto
Explore the showcase by division and program

Architecture
We envision architecture that can change the world for the better, by combining innovation in our fields with social and environmental impact. Our work addresses critical global issues—including climate change, resource scarcity, and housing inequity—through deep research, theoretical speculation, and design action.
View by Architecture program

Design
We engage with the most pressing challenges of our time and imagine what’s next by applying the full range of a designer’s toolset, from research and ideation to strategic foresight and iterative prototyping. Our work is driven by an ambition to create a world we want to live in.

Fine Arts
We are truth-seekers, culture workers, storytellers, and activists. With curiosity, honesty, and self-reflection, we boldly confront reality, using our creativity to craft a repository of collective memory and to ignite others to envision the future differently.

Humanities & Sciences
We activate interdisciplinary modes of critical and creative expression to delve into the social, political, and historical dimensions of our changing times. Our work embraces social transformation and worldbuilding through writing, visual analysis, curatorial practice, and comics.
Join Us
Happenings hosted by academic programs
Opportunities to celebrate theory and practice
The 2023 Showcase and its associated celebrations are free and open to the public, from in-person events and exhibitions to animations, films, online symposiums, and more. Browse programs and mark your calendars.
Thesis events and explorations

Architecture + Design Division Exhibition

Graduate Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibitions

BFA Senior Thesis Conversations

Fine Arts Senior Exhibition

VCS Spring Symposium

uncontained: categories always leak

Curatorial Practice Written Thesis Symposium

Artist Proof Solo Presentations by Advanced Printmedia students

MFA Thesis Film Showcase

Animation Show

DMBA Reveal Venture Showcase

Fashion Show
Connect
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@cacollegeofarts
June 5, 2023
"I want to make 'stuff' that is part of the solution, not the problem." — Oliver Grant (BFA Industrial Design 2023)
Take a look at OTTO, a configurable work vehicle for people who live, grow, and build off the land. This project was selected as a Deans' Spotlight in the 2023 Showcase.
Growing up in rural California in "a world untouched by industry or mainstream development," Grant developed a deep respect for nature and admiration for the tools that make modern life possible in these remote areas. The micro-work truck was designed as a tool, complete with customizable storage, a self-leveling workbed, four-wheel steering, and an onboard power supply.
See more of the designer's work at @olivertgrant and go to cca.edu/showcase to explore the capstone work of this year's CCA grads.

June 3, 2023
We’ve got your summer reading list right here. Unplug and get lost in these new releases by @ccafmfawriting alumni 🌞 📖
1. ‘Old Flame’ by Molly Prentiss (@mollyprentiss)
2. ‘The Nature Book’ by Tom Comitta (@tomcomitta)
3. ‘Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar’ by Jessamyn Violet (@jessamynviolet)
4. ‘The Perfumist of Paris’ by Alka Joshi (@thealkajoshi)
5. ‘CRUEL/CRUEL’ by Dior J. Stephens (dolphinphotos)
6. ‘Echo Loba/Loba Echo: Of Wisdom, Wolves, and Women’ by Sonja Swift (coming October 2023)

May 31, 2023
Runway slay by @ccafashiondesign 🪡✂️🔥

May 30, 2023
Congratulations to our very own Martin Hitch, Lizzy Wilson, Alden Gendreau, and Rizwana Lubis, named in @metropolismag's Future100 list, a designation of the top graduating architecture and interior design students in the United States and Canada. 🏆💯
At CCA, architecture students are challenged to shatter boundaries, defy norms, and envision a better future for the common good. Nominated by their instructors to compete for this top honor, these students are testing new ideas and exploring the future of architecture.
Go to cca.edu/newsroom to learn more about the winners.
Join the journey by division
- Follow Fine Arts @ccafinearts
- Follow Architecture @cca_arch_div
- Follow Design @ccadesignis
- Follow Humanities & Sciences @cca_critical_ethnic_studies
Discover our range of creative practices