This month at CCA: February 2025 public events
San Francisco, CA—January 30, 2024—California College of the Arts is excited to invite the public to experience its newly expanded campus with an exciting lineup of exhibitions, artist talks, lectures, and special events this February. Don’t miss STEADY, an exhibition featuring sculptors Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegàs, at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, discover award winning artwork at the Novack Gallery, and explore new perspectives through an engaging lineup of lecture series.
Lectures, talks, and readings
Irene Cheng Lecture
Monday, February 3
5:30–7 pm
Hooper Pavilion (N203) | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
Irene Cheng, an architectural historian, critic, and associate professor and chair of the Graduate Architecture program at CCA, explores the entanglements of architecture, culture, and politics as part of CCA’s Visual & Critical Studies Forum. In this talk, Cheng will focus on architect Bernard Maybeck’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, a Berkeley landmark.
Ester Partegàs and Stephen Lichty in conversation
Saturday, February 8
11 am
Novack Lecture Hall | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
Artists and friends Stephen Lichty and Ester Partegàs discuss all things sculpture in this special conversation held in conjunction with the STEADY exhibition, on view at the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Dionne Lee | Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Lecture
Wednesday, February 12
6–7:30 pm
Nave Presentation Space | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
The Larry Sultan Visiting Artist program, a free, public on-campus lecture series, pays tribute to the renowned photographic artist and longtime CCA faculty member Larry Sultan. This lecture will feature CCA alum Dionne Lee (MFA Fine Arts 2017), who works in photography, collage, and video to explore power, survival, and personal history in relation to the American landscape.
Faith Adiele Lecture
Monday, February 24
5:30–7 pm
Hooper Pavilion (N203) | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
Faith Adiele, author of four hybrid chapbooks about her Nigerian-Nordic-American heritage, speaks to how visual culture operates as both a tool of critique and transformation as part of CCA’s Visual & Critical Studies Forum.
Kota Ezawa | Voices in Moving Image
Thursday, February 27
5:30–7 pm
Timken Hall | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
The Fine Arts Lecture Series is a cornerstone of CCA's vibrant campus culture, providing an exceptional platform for students to engage with eminent artists from around the world. In this lecture, artist Kota Ezawa, best known for his works on paper and animations that make use of found images, video, and film to comment on contemporary culture and history, shares his insight and creative process.
Exhibitions
Works in Progress III
Through Friday, February 7
CCA Campus Gallery | 1480 17th Street, San Francisco
Gallery Hours: Wednesdays: 11 am–7 pm, Thursday–Friday: 11 am–4 pm
Free and open to the public
Works in Progress is a design series created to build momentum for San Francisco’s craft and design community. Curated by alum Kate Greenberg (BFA Furniture 2020) and Kelley Perumbeti, Works in Progress III blurs the personal and the public. Nine public benches are reimagined, celebrating the importance of individual experiences within our shared environment.
Pioneering Biomaterials: Academia and Industry Convergence
Free and open to the public
Exhibition | Through February 14
Novack Gallery | 145 Hooper Street
Gallery hours: Wednesday: 11 am–7 pm, Thursday–Friday: 11 am–4 pm
The exhibition provides an in-depth look at the latest advancements in sustainable materials, showcasing groundbreaking biomaterial projects and research from leading experts.
Workshop | Thursday, February 13
Nave Presentation Space | 145 Hooper Street
The workshop offers a hands-on session exploring the intersection of bio-based materials, computational design, and digital fabrication, equipping participants with tools to experiment with novel material compositions.
Symposium | Thursday, February 13 – Friday, February 14
Nave Presentation Space | 145 Hooper Street
The symposium is a two-day conference featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, designed to foster innovation and collaboration between academia and industry.
STEADY: Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegàs
Through Saturday, April 12
CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Gallery hours: Wednesday–Saturday: noon–6 pm; closed Sunday to Tuesday
Free and open to the public
STEADY, featuring artists Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegàs, challenges conventional notions of balance, materiality, and shared space through precarious and playful yet powerful sculptures.
warp
Through Saturday, February 22
PLAySPACE Gallery (N21) | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Gallery hours: Monday–Friday: 9 am–5 pm
Free and open to the public
The PLAySPACE Gallery kicks off the new year with vibrancy, texture, and tenderness in warp. Depending on the installation, we encourage you to touch, play, sit, or reflect on what warmth means to you. warp features work from CCA’s MFA and BFA students, CCA alumni, Berkeley BFA, and local community artists.
Special events
Hello Trouble: CCA Illustration Biennial Alumni & Faculty Exhibition Opening Reception
Wednesday, February 19
5–7 pm
CCA Campus Gallery | 1480 17th Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
On view through March 14, the Illustration program showcases a collection of artwork that reflect the diverse contemporary practices of alumni and faculty, expressing personal obsessions and a range of social and cultural perspectives.
Voices II: Black Excellence
Tuesday, February 25
7–8:30 pm
CCA Campus Gallery | 1480 17th Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
In recognition of the countless cultural attributions made by Black artists, scholars, and writers around the world, Voices: A Community Open Mic Night is a gathering that celebrates Blackness through the power of words.
38th Annual Barclay Simpson Master of Fine Arts Award Exhibition Opening Reception
Wednesday, February 26
5–6:30 pm
Novack Gallery | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Free and open to the public
On view through March 14, the Barclay Simpson Awards exhibition will feature works from four MFA program winners. The award has been granted to over 108 students in CCA’s MFA program, helping them finish their degree work and launch their careers.
About California College of the Arts
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (CCA) educates students to shape culture and society through art, architecture, design, and writing. The college offers a rich curriculum of 22 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs taught by a faculty of expert practitioners. Located in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area, CCA uniquely prepares students for lifelong creative work by fostering social and environmental responsibility, innovation, and community engagement. Graduates are highly sought-after by companies such as Pixar, Apple, IDEO, and Google, and many go on to launch their own successful businesses.
CCA’s newly expanded campus adds 82,300 square feet of space to teach, make, and present art in a continuous indoor-outdoor environment. Designed by world-renowned architecture firm Studio Gang, the new addition, completed this fall 2024, brings together 30 academic programs and disciplines, student housing and dining, and interdisciplinary learning. For more information, visit cca.edu.