This month at CCA: November 2025
Explore a lineup of free public events at California College of the Arts.
San Francisco, CA—October 30, 2025—California College of the Arts (CCA) invites the public to experience its newly expanded campus with an exciting lineup of free exhibitions, artist talks, lectures, and special events this November. Highlights include the 2025 Art & Crafts Fair and the latest CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts exhibition, 8 hours of work.
Exhibitions
8 hours of work
On view through Saturday, December 20, 2025
Opening reception: Saturday, November 8, 5-7 pm
Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts and Novack Gallery | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Gallery hours: Wednesday–Saturday, noon–6 pm
Presented under the collective title Labor: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours of what you will, the yearlong research season begins with the first of three exhibits: 8 hours of work. The exhibition features materials from the San Francisco Labor Archives, including ephemera from the California Labor School, photographs by Otto Hegel and Hansel Mieth, and a screening room with works by Kenneth Tam, Chantal Peñalosa Fong, and others. A new weaving commission conceptualized by artist Tania Candiani and created by CCA students debuts outdoors at the entrance of campus. Join us for the opening reception on November 8, following the CCA Art & Crafts Fair.
2025 Ronald & Anita Wornick Award Exhibition
On view through Friday, November 21, 2025
Opening reception: Wednesday, November 12, 5–6:30 pm
Campus Gallery | 1480 17th Street, San Francisco
California College of the Arts and the Fine Arts Division invite you to the opening reception for the 2025 Ronald & Anita Wornick Award Exhibition, featuring the work of this year’s award recipient, furniture student Helena Garzotto.
Sawing In Half Illusions
On view through Friday, November 21, 2025
Opening reception: Wednesday, November 12, 6–8 pm
PLAySPACE Gallery | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Peek behind the curtain of cinematic magic in Sawing in Half Illusions: A Dialogue between Fantastic Visions and Stop Motion Animation, a student-led exhibition celebrating the unseen labor, behind the scenes, and inventions that go into the creation of moving images, set building, and puppet making.
Everyday Strange
On view through Friday, November 21, 2025
Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts and Novack Gallery | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Gallery hours: Wednesday 11 am–7 pm, Thursday 11 am–4 pm, & Friday 11 am–4 pm
Everyday Strange is a staff exhibition that highlights the artistry, design, and thought-provoking pieces created by CCA staff who play a vital role in sustaining spirit and fostering a sense of belonging across the institution, rich with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Lectures, talks, and readings
Tausif Noor - Valences of the “Global”: Art Historical and Curatorial Approaches
Wednesday, November 5, 5–6:15 pm
CCA Campus (N203) | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Over the past 30 years, the term “global” has gained prominence in art history and curatorial studies to describe artistic and intellectual exchanges across time and place. In this talk, Tausif Noor examines how the term, shaped by histories of decolonization, postcolonialism, and globalization, has manifested in individual practices and exhibitions and questions its continued relevance today.
Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Lecture: Makeda Best
Wednesday, November 5, 6:30–8 pm
Timken Hall | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
With over 25 years of professional experience working in the arts, Makeda Best contributes to a conversation that pays tribute to the renowned photographic artist and longtime CCA faculty member Larry Sultan. Each year, this series brings to campus prominent photographers and artists working in photography-related media to give public presentations.
Amale Andraos & Dan Wood: Buildings for People and Plants
Thursday, November 6, 5:30–7 pm
Nave Presentation Space | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Join WORKac co-founders Amale Andraos and Dan Wood for a lecture on their new book, Buildings for People and Plants. The volume highlights ten recent projects, including the Mission Rock Building B in San Francisco, North Boulder Library, RISD’s Student Success Center, and the Miami Museum Garage, that explore architecture’s capacity to support both ecological systems and human communities.
Kate Colby: Blueprints for the Unspoken
Tuesday, November 11, 5–6:30 pm
CCA Campus (N402) | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Poet and CCA MFA Writing alum Kate Colby reads from her new book Paradoxx and discusses intersections between poetic form, performance, and the creative process.
Mariah Nielson: Material Lineage
Saturday, November 12, 6:30–8 pm
Blattner Multipurpose Room | 75 Arkansas Street, San Francisco
Following the Wornick Award Scholarship exhibition opening, join us for this year’s Wornick Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture, featuring CCA alum Mariah Nielson (BArch 2005), an established architect, curator, and design historian, also the daughter of pioneering American artist JB Blunk.
Kat Vellos: Designing for Connection
Saturday, November 15, 6:30–7:30 pm
CCA Timken Auditorium | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Join UX designer and author Kat Vellos, author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships, for a fun and thought-provoking conversation about the parallels between user experience design and relationship design, and how to design more platonic connections into your life and your professional community.
Rimma Boshernitsan: A Conversation on AI
Tuesday, November 18, 6 pm
Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts and Novack Gallery | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Writer and cultural strategist Rimma Boshernitsan moderates a conversation about the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work and society. From gig economies to influencer culture, technological shifts have already transformed how people labor and connect, but AI introduces new fears and possibilities on a global scale.
Alexis Madrigal: Oakland Against the World
Thursday, November 20, 5:30–7 pm
Nave Presentation Space | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Journalist and author Alexis Madrigal will discuss his new book, The Pacific Circuit, a sweeping portrait of Oakland through the life of environmental justice activist Margaret Gordon. Madrigal’s talk will explore what Oakland—and cities everywhere—owe to their residents, whether or not they own property, in an era of profound transformation.
Special events
Hidden San Francisco: A Labor History Tour with Chris Carlsson
Saturday, November 1, 1–3 pm
Meet at the corner of Chula Lane and Dolores Street, San Francisco
*Please note: participants should bring their own bikes
As part of the Wattis Institute’s yearlong research season focused on labor, historian Chris Carlsson, author of Hidden San Francisco: A Guide to Lost Landscapes, Unsung Heroes & Radical Histories, will lead a bike tour of San Francisco's various labor movements. Discover memories, echoes, and ghosts of the city's storied past, often hiding in plain sight.
Graduate Fine Art Open Studios
Sunday, November 2, 3–6 pm
Floors 3 and 4 | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Join Graduate Fine Arts students to celebrate their work and their in-progress work. Graduate Fine Arts students are opening their studios to the public to offer a glimpse of the work being created this semester.
2025 Art & Crafts Fair
Saturday, November 8, 11 am–5 pm
Floors 3 and 4 | 145 Hooper Street, San Francisco
Shop from a wide variety of original artworks made by over 180 students, faculty, alumni, staff, and local artists. This is a great opportunity to support craftspersons, designers, and local artisans, just in time for the holiday season.