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 / July 25, 2024

Nob Hill Gazette spotlights CCA's newly expanded campus

Nob Hill Gazette dives deep into CCA's vision of creating a unified campus in San Francisco. Learn more about Studio Gang's design process to realize this vision.

CCA’s expanded, 82,300-square-foot building in San Francisco’s Design District brings 22 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs together under one roof.

Media coverage / July 10, 2024

CCA faculty member Genevieve Quick wins the Artadia Award

Congratulations to Film faculty member Genevieve Quick for receiving the 2024 San Francisco Bay Area Artadia Award.

Still from Genevieve Quick’s “Hello World” (2022-Present).

Media coverage / July 2, 2024

Making the most of each moment with alum Chelsea Ryoko Wong

In an interview with The Creative Independent, painter and muralist Chelsea Ryoko Wong (BFA Printmaking 2010) talks about challenging yourself, changing focus, and being conscientious of how you use your time.

Photo of Chelsea Ryoko Wong.

Media coverage / June 25, 2024

CCA wins the Outstanding Science Award at the 2024 BioDesign Challenge Summit

Led by faculty members Margaret Ikeda, Evan Jones, and Negar Kalantar, CCA Architecture students collaborated with UCSF microbiology students to develop a biomaterial architectural system out of shellfish and eggshell waste.

Shell We Dance project.

Media coverage / June 17, 2024

Two notable alums that have shaped the San Francisco art scene

CCA alums Robert Arneson (BFA Art Education 1956) and Viola Frey (BFA Ceramics 1956) are among ten artists featured in a roundup of Bay Area creatives who have significantly influenced the art scene unique to San Francisco.

The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization by Viola Frey, 1992.

Media coverage / June 11, 2024

Architecture students explore how California's high-speed rail can connect communities

Students Layla Namak and Shane Chavez design a high-speed rail system to enhance educational opportunities and connect the Central Valley to various cities throughout California.

Layla Namak and Shane Chavez visits the Central Valley construction.

Media coverage / June 6, 2024

A conversation with faculty member Julian Carter

In an interview with LA Review of Books, Critical Studies faculty member Julian Carter shares the intimate stories and ideas behind his new multi-genre book Dances of Time and Tenderness.

An illustration of chains by Julian Carter.

Media coverage / June 5, 2024

CCA student collections shine in spotlight about Bay Area fashion shows

Find out the inspiration behind the stunning collections by recent fashion graduates Pamela Alcala, Winny Qingzihua Guan, and Yiwei Wang in this spotlight about Bay Area student fashion shows.

Hand-crocheted look by Pamela Alcala at the California College of the Arts show on May 10, 2024.

Media coverage / May 21, 2024

CCA faculty member Jack Leamy turns a local middle school into a museum

Critical Ethnic Studies faculty member Jack Leamy (aka John Leamy III) and over 100 students come together to paint the hallways of Bret Harte Middle School with murals of local and national heroes.

An accomplished painter, John Leamy III is in his fourth year teaching art at Bret Harte Middle School.

Media coverage / May 20, 2024

Incoming faculty member Diedrick Brackens presents a series of tapestries about trying to love and be loved

blood compass, a solo exhibition by alum Diedrick Brackens (MFA Fine Arts 2014), encounters the imagined space at dusk, twilight, and nighttime. Brackens will be joining CCA as an assistant professor in Textiles this fall.

Photo of Diedrick Brackens.

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.