Newsroom

The latest at CCA

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

Have a story to share? Contact [email protected].

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How to become an illustrator: 5 tips for high school students

Learn how to become an illustrator with these five tips from professors at a top-ten art and design college.

The word illustration is drawn into a mural of branches and leaves adorning a large classroom wall

Press release / March 17, 2022

CCA Curatorial Practice and CCA Wattis Institute Present Resonance of Place, April 28–May 14, 2022

Resonance of Place, a multi-site exhibition reflecting on the body’s precarious relationship to its surroundings, curated by the Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice Class of 2022.

"Natani Notah, #TsiiyéełPowered, 2017-present. Documentation of ongoing walking performance.

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Focused on the future with CCA campus unification

With the creativity and inventive solutions that artists and designers are known for, CCA’s campuses will be unified in San Francisco on schedule in fall 2022.

View from the street looking toward the corner of a modern-style building with the CCA logo in teal in the window. A row of palm trees lines the sunny street.

Press release / March 10, 2022

CCA presents the 2022 MFA Graduating Class Exhibition

The exhibition debuts work from 27 emerging artists in CCA’s graduate program in fine arts.

A black square with white text across three lines reading “CCA MFA 2022’.

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Why unification?

Discover how our campus expansion project is transforming CCA into a residential campus that unifies all our academic programs on a single campus and supports innovative, cross-disciplinary work.

An architectural rendering, or illustration, of CCA’s planned Double Ground campus shows groups of students walking together and playing Frisbee on a lawn surrounded by gardens, a plaza, and new buildings for classrooms and studios.

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Cultivating a human-centered approach to problem-solving

If you've ever ordered a poke bowl from UberEats, you've benefited from a human-centered approach to design. Learn how this design-based problem-solving process is revolutionizing business creativity.

A group of twelve students gather in a circle around a table with post-its.

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Graduate students at CCA curate fun in the exhibition plaYplaYplaY

Student curators from the Curatorial Practice and MFA Writing programs get the opportunity to organize an exhibition centered around play.

Liz Hafey adds pink polka dots to her work Seeing Spots (2020).

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The power of hope and truth in racial healing

Tricia Brand, our inaugural vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, talks about what sets CCA apart from other colleges and why she’s hopeful for the future.

Portrait of Tricia Brand.

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Game arts: 5 trends for the future

Game arts experts identify five trends that will define the future of game design and what they mean for gamers and aspiring game artists.

A tablet shows a sketch of medieval characters with swords and armor facing a dragon.

Press release / Feb. 14, 2022

CCA appoints Nicolas Elsishans as chief financial officer

California College of the Arts (CCA) President Stephen Beal announced Nicolas Elsishans as chief financial officer, effective February 28.

CCA official logo.

Media coverage / Feb. 1, 2022

CCA Faculty Janette Kim, Brendon Levitt, and James Graham win Buell Prize at ACSA

CCA faculty Janette Kim, Brendon Levitt, and James Graham win the Buell Prize for course development in architecture, climate change, and society at ASCA, the international association of architecture schools.

Graphic with black background with white letters spelling ASCA.

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How architectural design can improve social equity

Today, thought leaders in the field are approaching architectural design with an eye not only to aesthetics and environmental sustainability, but also to social equity.

Drawing of people of all ages and ethnicities gathering for picnics and barbecues in a green space surrounded by houses.

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Four tips for finding art colleges that fit your goals

Learn how to choose among the hundreds of art and design colleges in the country to find which ones would best fit your artistic vision, career goals, and your personality.

Two students use a straight edge over small cardboard maquettes.

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A return to form: The Fall 2021 BFA Design Thesis Show gets real

Learn about some of the art and projects on display at the Perry Family Event Center (350 Kansas Street) for the fall’s 2021 BFA Design Thesis showcase.

Visitors take in illustrations and graphics arranged neatly on a gallery wall.

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Over the Threshold: Returning to campus with energy and experimentation

From tie-dye to chainsaws and Tamagotchis, Design faculty and students are making the leap, returning to campus and community to learn together once more.

A student cuts wood wearing goggles and a face mask in a light-filled workshop.

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Where to put your graphic design degree to work

With a graphic design degree, job opportunities are abundant and varied. Across industries, businesses and organizations rely on graphic designers to create visual concepts that communicate ideas and information.

A selection of posters aligned at various angles sits atop a backdrop of yellow pamphlets.

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Class Spotlight: Students explore Oakland’s urban history one step at a time

CCA students in the class “Hella Oakland” discovered a whole new side of the city through immersive walking tours of historical neighborhoods like West Oakland, Rockridge, and Jack London Square.

A panoramic photo of Oakland’s Lake Merritt at dusk, with the city’s skyline in the background.

Press release / Dec. 21, 2021

CCA appoints Tricia Brand as inaugural vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

California College of the Arts (CCA) President Stephen Beal announced Tricia Brand as the college’s inaugural vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), effective April 1, 2022.

Drone view looking down at the San Francisco campus of CCA

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Can game design be a tool for social justice?

Building interactive new worlds as a game designer is a powerful way to share your vision for a more just future.

A room with a video game set up in the background and a wall with the text “Game Arts Home Room” in the foreground.

Media coverage / Dec. 11, 2021

MFA in Comics adjunct professor Melanie Gillman releases Other Ever Afters

Other Ever Afters is a new graphic novel by MFA in Comics adjunct professor Melanie Gillman is a collection of feminist, queer original fairy tales.

Two illustrated pages from graphic novel Other Ever Afters.

Lindsay Wright

Director of Integrated Communications

+1 530-906-8805

[email protected]