Events & Exhibitions
CCA’s dynamic public programming brings art, architecture, design, writing, and the world of ideas to life through events, lectures, exhibitions, and more.
Join us
All of CCA’s lectures, symposiums, and workshops are free, offering opportunities for students and the public to engage with cultural topics and creative practices through the work and ideas of award-winning artists, designers, authors, scholars, and alumni.
Featured events and programs
Art in action
Explore how democracy, creative activism, and voter advocacy intersect through Creative Citizens in Action’s (CCA@CCA) annual series of public programs, which span the disciplines of art, design, architecture, and writing.
Creative Citizens Series
Enjoy curated new work by our community of students, faculty, staff, and visiting artists in our contemporary galleries. Exhibitions are open to all and always free.
Current exhibitions
Recognitions / 认 • 知, a solo exhibition by Christine Wong Yap, at the new CCA Campus Gallery in Blattner Hall.
Discover on-campus experiences
Enjoy the future of art and design all year-long in CCA’s mix of campus galleries and presentation spaces. Visitors will find new work by students, faculty, staff, and visiting artists in curated venues that embrace diverse perspectives and a range of contemporary approaches. Offering our students the unique opportunity to present their work and expand their practice in a professional setting, the campus galleries are also a place for our community of makers and the public to connect across contemporary art and design. Plan a visit, today.
Meet the voices of tomorrow
CCA’s graduating student showcases, presented by class year, are digital time capsules of capstone projects and culminating work.
Celebrating the makers of 2024
Featuring work by graduating students, the 2024 Showcase represents the diversity of practice across CCA’s Architecture, Design, Fine Arts, and Humanities & Sciences divisions. Navigate the full showcase experience on Portal, and check out the Deans' Spotlight collection of outstanding projects from each academic division.
Creative Citizens in Action
The Creative Citizens in Action (CCA@CCA) initiative provides important resources to the CCA community to power dialogue and making related to creative activism. The connected programming explores art, democratic engagement, and current affairs through public events, exhibitions, grant opportunities, voting resources, and connections to the classroom.
CCA@CCA is overseen by the Exhibitions and Public Programming department in partnership with Student Affairs, as well as libraries, academic divisions, communications, and faculty.
Explore our stories
Rewind Review Respond
Rewind Review Respond (RRR) is an online forum where CCA students write about recent events and the ideas that affect their practice, communities, and fields of study. Through writing, videos, and interviews, RRR is an opportunity to debrief on a lecture, panel, screening, or roundtable and to dive deeper into ideas discussed.
RRR is organized by the Exhibitions and Public Programming department and led by a team of student editors, writers, and designers.
Exhibitions at CCA
@ccaexhibitions
Dec. 19, 2024
"In architectural competitions, jury prizes are often awarded based on aesthetics with little to no thought towards material and labor conditions. Theory is considered 'optional,' rather than foundational. However, these speakers would all agree that theory is always being practiced, even when we are not directly aware of it. [...] Theory is the lens we use to see the world around us, and when engaged with properly, it can become a praxis for healing and repair."
Read Dawn Lorence's full review of THEORY ACTS, an online symposium presented by @cca_arch_div faculty James Graham and Irene Cheng in RRR Volume 9 (accessible via our linktree). THEORY ACTS featured three guest speakers from across the academic sphere" Ana Maria León from the Harvard GSD, Jay Cephas from the Princeton School of Architecture, and Aaron Cayer from Cal Poly Pomona. The symposium was funded by a CCA@CCA Faculty Grant.
Dawn Lorence (MArch 2026) is a biomaterial researcher and an aspiring architect hoping to utilize adaptive reuse in design.
Dec. 17, 2024
CCA's Teaching Galleries are closed for winter break but reopen after MLK day with two exciting exhibitions by CCA's design and architecture divisions.
The Novack Gallery will feature "Pioneering Biomaterials: Academia and Industry Convergence," presented by the Architectural Ecologies Lab, Digital Craft Lab, and Autodesk Research. "Pioneering Biomaterials" highlights the importance of biomaterials, delving into the necessity and impact of material innovation in various sectors of architecture and design. / On view January 22–February 14 / Opening reception: January 22, 5–7pm
At the Campus Gallery, we're hosting "Works in Progress III," an exhibition curated by Kate Greenberg (BFA Furniture 2020) and Kelley Perumbeti (Office of Tangible Space). "Works in Progress III" is an invitation to an interior landscape where the personal and the public are blurred. Breathing new perspective into a furniture archetype, nine public benches celebrate the importance of individuality within a shared experience. / On view January 22–February 7 / Opening reception: January 24, 5–8pm.
Images: Detail from "Pioneering Biomaterials" poster, Installation view from "Works in Progress II"
Dec. 11, 2024
“The works in [Long Lost] invite reflection on reunion, estrangement, and the complex notion of home; wherever or whatever that may mean to each of us. Reflecting on my experience of the exhibition, I thought too of what my own connections to home look and feel like. Home in the body, home in soil, home disjointed, and home returned.”
Visit RRR Volume 9 via the link in our bio to read Chloe Vuillermoz's full review of Long Lost, which was on view at @ccaplayspace Gallery this October. Long Lost was curated by Giorgie O'Keeffe DePaolis and featured works from current students (such as Angela Zamora, Haley Mae, Rochi Urbano, and Millicent Villacastin) and alumni (including Narges Poursadeqi, tamara suarez porras, Djinnaya Stroud, and Ashley Martin-Prideaux)
Chloe Vuillermoz (BA Writing and Literature 2026) is a multi-genre writer
and musician originally from Colorado's front range. Their written work explores
themes of grief, memory, and landscape. Also pursuing a minor in History of Art
and Visual Culture, they are intrigued by queer histories in art, literature, and the
spaces in between.
Dec. 10, 2024
❗Reminder for CCA Faculty❗ Apply now to receive up to $1000 in grant support for your spring 2025 course efforts connected to creative activism and civic engagement.
DEADLINE: THIS THURSDAY, December 12, 2024
AWARDED BY: December 18, 2024
AMOUNTS: Up to $1000 (Between $500–1000 based on proposed budget is typical)
FUNDING AVAILABLE: $5000
APPLICATION FORM: Available via our linktree
Faculty Grants, funded via Creative Citizens in Action at CCA (CCA@CCA), are designed to support course efforts tied to civic and democratic engagement by CCA faculty. The goal of this program is to support the implementation of small-scale, immediate, public-facing events, projects, or activations that aim to improve the learning experience of students and provide opportunities for students to practice creative activism. Projects require a public outcome that can be featured in the Creative Citizens Program Series as well as social media and online platforms.
Please e-mail [email protected] with any questions. We are happy to discuss proposals that are still in the working stage. The application fields are purposely brief. We expect that projects will evolve, and are just asking for just enough detail to give us a sense of your course and the proposed project.
Image: Faith Adiele and students at a CCA@CCA Faculty Grant-funded event, “Taste of Belonging: A Night Market,” December 2023.
Find what’s next in our calendar of exhibitions and events