CCA celebrates its graduating students in Class of 2021 Showcase, on view now at CCA.edu
The Class of 2021 Showcase features work from over 260 students across the Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences divisions.
San Francisco, CA—Monday, May 10, 2021—Today, California College of the Arts launches its Class of 2021 Showcase—an online exhibition of interdisciplinary work by over 260 graduating students from across the college’s 22 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs across Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences.
The Class of 2021 Showcase celebrates the work of CCA’s graduating class following more than a year of remote learning and making, and provides a digital space for students, friends and family, faculty, and industry professionals to gather virtually and recognize the Class of 2021’s achievements.
“The spirit, resilience, and creativity of the class of 2021, when faced with unprecedented challenges, has inspired me,” says Stephen Beal, CCA president. “The showcase highlights work from our graduating students that would be impressive in any year, and following a year of learning and making remotely, it’s a truly monumental achievement. I’m incredibly proud of their extraordinary work and excited to see where they will lead us.”
“The Class of 2021 Showcase was developed in recognition of our graduating students who kept making, designing, creating, and writing despite the health, political, and social challenges this past year has thrown at them,” says Jaime Austin, director of Exhibitions and Public Programming. “We are thrilled to bring together work from across the college to create a virtual presentation space that allows friends, family, and industry professionals to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2021. Each image included in the Showcase is a testament to the perseverance each of these students has demonstrated to make it to this graduation moment.”
Deans’ Spotlight highlights outstanding work by 2021 graduates
Through Deans’ Spotlight selections, the showcase will highlight 30 of the most outstanding work by graduating students. Selected by the deans of CCA’s Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and Humanities and Sciences divisions, every student work chosen for a Deans’ Spotlight demonstrates excellence in theory and practice.
Commencement events series
As part of CCA’s Commencement week and ongoing celebration of its graduating students, several academic programs are hosting upcoming virtual and in-person end-of-year experiences and events, including the MA in Curatorial Practice exhibition, Contact Traces, which can be viewed by appointment at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts through June 6; the spring 2021 Fashion Experience highlighting work by the graduating Fashion Design class; and the MFA in Fine Arts satellite website, 2021.ccamfa.art, which highlights work by the program’s graduating students.
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. Benefitting 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.