CCA@CCA Archive
2024 The Materiality of Resistance
In March 2024, CCA hosted the Materiality of Resistance Symposium, bringing together students, scholars, and artists from across the country to explore material modes of resistance to the status quo in American art and visual culture. Supported by a grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art, and organized by CCA’s History of Art and Visual Culture (HAVC) Program, the Materiality of Resistance Symposium explored the intersections of aesthetics, pedagogy, and social engagement. The Symposium offered a variety of events, including panels and lectures, workshops, performances, and two exhibitions on view in the Nave and at the nearby Wattis Institute. Creative Citizens in Action partnered with the HAVC Program to present a public lecture, an exhibition of student artwork, and a closing performance by the Nava Dance Theatre. The Creative Citizens in Action Exhibition (March 7–8, 2024) featured work by CCA students and faculty that visually complemented the Materiality of Resistance Symposium. Dispersed throughout CCA’s Nave, the exhibition included installations and presentations that were the combined result of an open call and CCA@CCA Faculty Grant-funded course projects.
Read about the Materiality of Resistance on creativecitizens.cca.edu
2023 Belonging
In spring 2023, we launched our theme of Belonging, which continued through fall 2023. The Deborah and Kenneth Novack Creative Citizens Series included Recognitions / 认 • 知, a solo exhibition by alumna Christine Wong Yap, which was the first exhibition in the new CCA Campus Gallery. The series also included a compendium of public programs that reflected a diversity of creative practices and critical pedagogies, highlighting those who are already doing deep work on the topic of Belonging among the CCA faculty, students and staff.
2022 Get out the Vote!
Fall 2022 marked our first semester as a unified campus in San Francisco. Masks were still required, but there was a greater feeling of normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions eased. With the U.S. Midterm Election taking place on November 8, 2022, we opted to delay the launch of a new theme by one semester and instead focus all of our fall programming attention on democratic engagement under the theme, “Get out the Vote.” To great results! CCA received multiple voting awards, and made great strides toward increasing voting among students. Our redesign of the voting information pages on our Portal intranet significantly increased unique page views, and CCA’s new polling location in Blattner Hall enabled voter turnout that far exceeded the San Francisco Precinct Average. In addition, CCA received recognition from Campus Vote Project, Voter Friendly Campus, and the California Secretary of State.
2021–2022 Fluid Mutualism
In 2021–2022, we focused on the topic of Fluid Mutualism, a theme selected by CCA@CCA Faculty Coordinator Vreni Michelini-Castillo that centered ancestral practices and philosophies of Indigenous people from around the world. Fluid Mutualism was a complex topic that dealt with difficult issues such as land acknowledgment, water and land rights, and climate justice in a way that was inclusive, respectful, hands-on (when possible), and conversation-based. It provided a model that was cross-disciplinary and collaborative, and demonstrated how platforms for sustained discussions related to challenging subjects can be cultivated at an art and design college. This academic year was a year of growth and reflection, balanced between remote, hybrid, and in-person learning. We successfully organized our first collegewide symposium and presented 32 events featuring over 45 paid speakers and facilitators. We also provided key financial support that empowered 20 faculty to integrate creative activism into their course curriculum, and awarded 11 students funds to create new and experimental installations that enlivened the Nave.
2020–2021 Creative Activism
The 2020-2021 academic year brought many challenges, as well as opportunities. In response to a wave of critical issues and distanced learning our hope was to respond with urgency and resilience by connecting the school community to grow and support each other despite fear, anxiety and real challenges due to social distancing and the impacts of COVID-19. Our Event Series was focused on showcasing work by artists and practitioners who were modeling forms of resiliency and creative activism, with a focus on Bay Area artists and institutions in an effort to connect CCA students residing across the world to the Bay Area creative scene. Due to CCA’s remote learning environment we pivoted our programming to take place virtually, and throughout the year were able to grow our web presence via Portal pages, online resources, a video archive of recorded events, and a CCA@CCA Artwork Campaign online exhibition, which allowed us to reach broader audiences than what would have been possible via in-person events.
Read about the Creative Activism theme on creativecitizens.cca.edu