California College of the Arts and the Masters of Fine Arts Program invite you to the 2026 Barclay Simpson Award Exhibition, featuring the work of this year’s award recipients Grace Jin, Gabby Severson, Jasmine Narkita Wiley, and Alfredo Zapata de Jesus. 

Special thanks to this year’s jurors, Omar Farah, Curator at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and Christine Koppes, Owner and Founder of Christine Koppes Art Consulting.

Barclay Simpson (1921-2014) was a trustee and generous supporter of CCA for over 28 years. The Barclay Simpson Awards began in 1987 with a generous donation from Barclay and his wife, Sharon. Since its inception, the Barclay Simpson Award has been granted to over 116 students in CCA’s Graduate Program in Fine Arts, helping them finish their degree work and launch their careers.

Each year, the award is juried by outside experts who assess the work of second-year MFA students and select four winners. The exhibition of the student award winners and its opening reception are among the hallmark events of the spring semester.