Celebrating our community of makers past, present, and future
We opened our doors to the public in celebration of our campus expansion and our 117-year legacy in the Bay Area.
Attendees gather in the Gensler Family Courtyard for the Opening Ceremony. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.
On Saturday, October 19, hundreds of guests joined us for our Making Futures Opening Celebrations, to commemorate the long-awaited opening of our campus expansion, where we honored our historic legacy, and put forward our visions for the college.
The day began with our annual Homecoming Alumni Gathering, where we inducted our Half Century Club members (class of 1974) and presented the inaugural Alumni Service Award to Michele Carlson (MFA Printmaking 2006), Weston Teruya (MFA Painting/Drawing 2007, MFA Visual & Critical Studies 2007), and Nathan Watson (Glass) of RelatedTactics. While an exhibition of the college’s history graced the walls of the Nave Presentation Space, we were also joined by a special member of early CCA history: Jack Bousian, our oldest living alumni at 104 years old.
At 4 pm, Provost Tammy Rae Carland rang the college’s bell (a tradition started by our school’s founder Frederick H. Meyer), and the Opening Ceremony began in our newly built Gensler Family Courtyard. Remarks from President David C. Howse, faculty TT Takemoto, Studio Operations Manager Jeremiah Jenkins, student Alyssa Bardge (Writing and Literature) and Distinguished Alum Lava Thomas (BFA Ceramics 1999) led us into reflection of what community means, the power that art and design hold, and the possibilities that await us. San Francisco mayor London Breed also joined us, acknowledging the college’s contributions to the city, and officially proclaimed October 19 as California College of the Arts Day. At the end of the ceremony, attendees were invited to participate in a ribbon-tying moment, a collective action to symbolize the unification of our campus.
As the sun set on the city with the iconic San Francisco skyline as our backdrop, the campus lit up with energy for our Campus Housewarming: galleries debuted new exhibitions, studios opened up for demonstrations, DJ sets and live musical performances were the soundtrack for the evening, and every corner of the campus filled with connections and conversations. The evening captured exactly what CCA has expanded for — creativity, collaboration, community, and a connective hub in The City.
