The CCA Campus Gallery presents a faculty exhibition on what it means to belong
In a diverse range of mediums across fine arts, architecture, design, and humanities & sciences, faculty imagine what belonging, care, and community means to them in the exhibition stories of us.
The CCA community has embarked on a journey to understand what belonging means to us, and what it could mean in the future. In March, the campus initiative Creative Citizens in Action (CCA@CCA) launched the Belonging Symposium, which kicked off a series of talks, exhibitions, and conversations on work that is vital to us.
stories of us is on view August 30–October 20, 2023. Photo by Megan Kelly.
In late summer, we asked our faculty the question: What does the idea of belonging mean to you? The result is the recent faculty exhibition presented at the CCA Campus Gallery titled stories of us. (On view August 30–October 20, 2023.)
In stories of us, the CCA faculty community presents a diverse array of work in a wide range of mediums, from furniture design to works that invite your participation and from zines to quilts, all showcasing the faculty’s unique practices.
Matt Silady, Do Not Juggle Ganesh, 2018. Photo by Megan Kelly.
The works on view reflect personal stories. They uncover the complex web of racial identity. They tell of people imagining a better world. They show moments where they met themselves. They reveal some of our faculty’s most vulnerable moments.
“Even in spaces where we feel the most comfortable and welcomed, we sometimes make our biggest mistakes,” says Matt Silady, associate professor and chair of BFA Comics. “[My piece] is a very short story about trying too hard, misunderstanding my place, and learning that things often work out best when you take a step back and get out of the way.”
Preview select works below and read personal insights from our faculty. Plan a visit to the CCA Campus Gallery in San Francisco to explore more.
Curtis Hidemasa Arima, Stories from Camp: A stone’s throw, 2023. Photo by Megan Kelly.
“This is based on a memory that my father told me from his time in WWII Japanese Relocation Camp …. This piece connects me to my father’s story through humor and documents a complex part of my family history with many contradictions and unexpected ways that community can form.”
—Curtis Hidemasa Arima, chair of Jewelry and Metal Arts
Chris Treggiari, The Public Podium (a collaboration with Cole Goins), 2023.
“People with power regularly drive headlines that shape how we think the world works. Press conferences are a tool for both the powerful and organized communities to influence media coverage and shape these narratives. The Public Podium asks: What would you say if you convened your own press conference?”
—Chris Treggiari, senior adjunct, First Year Core Studio
Janette Kim, Bartertown, 2017. Photo by Megan Kelly.
“Bartertown is a board game that imagines a world without money to test how social networks can be reshaped by an economy of favors and resource-sharing. The game acts as a decision-making tool for a warming world, one that fosters new relationships between economies, design, and the public.”
—Janette Kim, associate professor of Architecture
Gregory Climer, Young Man in Chair, 2021. Photo by Megan Kelly.
“This piece is a part of a broader series of queer portraits that place us into a history of families … [It] resonated as a portrait of care for me because nothing is happening in it. He’s sitting alone in the quiet. And, sometimes that is enough.”
—Gregory Climer, assistant professor of Fashion Design
stories of us is inspired by the CCA@CCA audio project of the same name. Hear faculty, staff, and student stories that reflect on experience of belonging or othering, or submit your own story.
The exhibition closes on October 20, 2023. A related Tea Time Talks on Belonging series, which features faculty from the stories of us exhibition continues throughout the fall 2023 semester.
There’s always something new to see at the Campus Gallery.
Keep up to date on what we have on view at CCA’s Campus Gallery, and stop by for a visit.
The CCA Campus Gallery
1480 17th Street
San Francisco, CA
Hours: Wednesday 11 am– 7 pm; Thursday & Friday 11 am–4 pm
Published on October 11, 2023