Inaugural diversity studies faculty exhibition features two weeks of celebratory events
Events include teach-ins, lectures, live music and more.
San Francisco, CA—The Diversity Studies Program at California College of the Art presents its first-ever faculty exhibition HOME: Making Space for Radical Love and Struggle—a two week long celebration of art and resistance that highlights the program’s history at CCA and its roots in the larger struggle to establish Ethnic Studies programs across the United States in the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition, presented at the Oliver Art Center on CCA’s Oakland campus, will feature a range of artworks that explore the theme of “home” and its myriad resonances in relation to academia, community, family, identity, and nation. The gallery space and campus will also be activated with two weeks of robust public programming including teach-ins, lectures, live music, and poetry tours. The exhibition and events are free and open to the public.
“HOME showcases the amazing work done by Diversity Studies faculty, creates a physical space for our program to engage more substantively with the CCA community and the community at-large, and highlights the 50 years of activism and persistence, in radical love and struggle, that are the program’s history and its legacy,” says Dr. Melinda Luisa de Jesús, the chair of CCA’s Diversity Studies program who envisioned the exhibition.
Highlights of celebratory events held in conjunction with the exhibition include: a lecture by graphic artist and illustrator Emory Douglas who served as the minister of culture for the Black Panthers from 1967-1980; a lecture and music demo by History of Funk scholar and KPFA radio host Rickey Vincent; poetry tours of the exhibition by San Francisco poet laureates Kim Shuck and Devorah Major; and a showcase of musical performances and lectures the night of Friday, April 13 featuring powerhouse vocalist, songwriter, and producer Jennifer Johns, classical guitarist Matthew Grasso, and Oaklandbased rapper and activist Vreni MicheliniCastillo (aka Chhoti Maa).
HOME is co-sponsored by the President’s Diversity Steering Group. The Exhibition Committee for HOME consists of: Claudia Bernardi, Melinda Luisa de Jesús, Shylah Pacheco Hamilton, Taraneh Hemami, Sean Levon Nash, Eduardo Pineda, Bryan Keith Thomas, and 2018 Diversity Studies Fellow Keyvan Shovir. Students in CCA’s Middle Eastern and North African Art (MENArt) group and Community Arts (COMAR) group are also each hosting events tied to the exhibition and their respective areas of academic study.
About California College of the Arts
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (CCA) educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. Benefiting from its San Francisco Bay Area location and faculty of expert practitioners, the college prepares students for lifelong creative work by cultivating innovation, community engagement, and social and environmental responsibility. Graduates are highly sought-after by the world’s leading companies, architecture and design firms, cultural and arts organizations, and more. CCA is creating a new, expanded college campus at its current site in San Francisco, spearheaded by the award-winning architectural firm Studio Gang, and will provide more student housing than ever before.