Photos | CCA “Making Futures” Opening Celebrations for Campus Expansion

Event: California College of the Arts “Making Futures” Campus Expansion
Date: October 19, 2024
Location: California College of the Arts, San Francisco
Photos (55): Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography

On Saturday, October 19, hundreds of guests joined California College of the Arts for their Making Futures Opening Celebrations, to commemorate the long-awaited opening of their campus expansion, where they honored their historic legacy, and put forward their visions for the college.

The day began with their annual Homecoming Alumni Gathering, where they inducted their 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, they 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 their school’s founder Frederick H. Meyer), and the Opening Ceremony began in their 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 them into reflection of what community means, the power that art and design hold, and the possibilities that await them. San Francisco mayor London Breed also joined them, 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 their campus.

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