California College of the Arts celebrates its graduating students in digital Class of 2020 Showcase, on view online beginning May 14 at CCA.edu
The Class of 2020 Showcase brings the work of over 300 students across the Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences divisions to visitors’ homes while CCA’s campus is closed during the shelter-in-place order.
On Thursday, May 14, California College of the Arts launches its Class of 2020 Showcase—an online platform at CCA.edu highlighting the work of over 300 graduating students in CCA’s 22 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs across Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences.
The Class of 2020 Showcase celebrates the culminating work of CCA’s graduating class during a time when CCA’s campus is closed due to the health risk posed by COVID-19. The showcase provides a digital space for students, friends and family, faculty, and industry professionals to gather virtually and recognize the Class of 2020’s extraordinary growth and achievements during their time at CCA.
“Although we’re deeply disappointed we can’t gather in person this May to pay tribute to the creative talent of this year’s graduating students in the way we wanted, CCA is honored to bring the Class of 2020 Showcase to our international community,” said Stephen Beal, CCA president. “The showcase serves as a time capsule celebrating a historic period for these students, but it also marks a pivotal moment for a class of inventive, resourceful students who now have a unique opportunity to use their experiences to help shape the post-pandemic world and bring positive changes to their communities.”
“The Class of 2020 Showcase highlights diverse work by bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates across CCA’s programs,” said Jaime Austin, CCA’s director of exhibitions and public programming. “Due to the unprecedented events of spring 2020, we quickly adapted culminating exhibitions into a personalized online experience that recognizes the resilience and commitment of these accomplished artists, designers, architects, makers, and writers. The Class of 2020 Showcase is not an exhibition, but instead serves as a portal of discovery commemorating each student’s work and growth during their time at CCA."
The digital portal—which will stay online indefinitely, serving as a historical record of the graduating class’s work at CCA—will connect visitors to student work hosted on CCA.edu and on satellite websites for individual programs (including the MFA in Fine Arts graduate website and the MA in Curatorial Practice online project, The Word for World is Forest) and can be explored freely or filtered by division, program, or student.
The showcase will also highlight some of the most outstanding work by graduating students through Curator’s Picks selected by divisional curators in Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences. Students honored with a 2020 Curator’s Pick earn the opportunity to have their work showcased on CCA’s campus the following academic year.
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, the college prepares students for lifelong creative work by cultivating innovation, community engagement, and social and environmental responsibility.
CCA offers a rich curriculum of 22 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs in art, design, architecture, and writing taught by a faculty of expert practitioners. Attracting promising students from across the nation and around the world, CCA is one of the 10 most diverse colleges in the U.S. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked CCA as one of the top 10 graduate schools for fine arts in the country.
Graduates are highly sought-after by companies such as Pixar/Disney, Apple, Intel, Facebook, Gensler, Google, IDEO, Autodesk, Mattel, and Nike, and many have launched their own successful businesses. Alumni and faculty are often recognized with the highest honors in their fields, including Academy Awards, AIGA Medals, Fulbright Scholarships, Guggenheim Fellowships, MacArthur Fellowships, National Medal of Arts, and the Rome Prize, among others.
CCA is creating a new, expanded college campus at its current site in San Francisco, spearheaded by the architectural firm Studio Gang. The new campus design will be a model of sustainable construction and practice; will unite the college’s programs in art, crafts, design, architecture, and writing in one location to create new adjacencies and interactions; and will provide more student housing than ever before. For more information, visit cca.edu.