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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@cacollegeofartsFeb. 19, 2024
⚠️ Construction update ⚠️ Double Ground has made incredible progress these past few months. New buildings are raised, and now we'll be focused on working towards the continuous indoor-outdoor environment that is one of the signature features of this project.
Double Ground opens doors this fall.
Feb. 16, 2024
Priority registration for Study Abroad 2024 ✈️takes off✈️ February 21–28.
This summer, we're headed to:
⌲ Project Tokyo (May 20–June 6)
⌲ Iceland: Midnight Sun (June 3–June 22)
⌲ Venice Biennale / Art Basel / Berlin (June 7–24)
⌲ Japan: In Search of Emptiness and Wabi Sabi (May 2–June 10)
⌲ Dessau/Amsterdam/Milan (May 20–June 10)
Go to Portal to find instructions for registering, infomation on financial aid, passports, visa, insurance, and more.
Feb. 12, 2024
When painting meets sculpture. . . and makes a stop by the @ccahybridlab 🤯🫀🔋 Emily Fernandes (BFA Painting & Drawing 2023) takes us behind the scenes of how ‘Stephanie’ and ‘Lisa’ came together. These works take conceptual and visual inspiration from 80’s sci-fi horror films and their props, exploring themes of mental health, deconstruction of bodies under capitalism, and existential dread.
Feb. 8, 2024
We are pleased to announce Jacqueline Francis as our new dean of Humanities and Sciences. Francis began her role as dean on January 8. Francis is an art historian, curator, and creative writer researching and writing modern and contemporary US art histories. Her special area of interest is the construction of past and present racialized identities and identifications within the critical framework of social art history. Among numerous esteemed accomplishments, Francis was previously chair of @ccaviscrit and professor of the @cca_history_of_art_vc program. She also served as Vice President of the Faculty Senate. In 2022, Francis earned tenure and was promoted to professor.
Congratulations to @jackiefrancissf and thank you for your leadership and commitment to CCA.
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