Why study at CalArts?

 

The School of Art is committed to artistic innovation and intellectual rigor. The School's programs emphasize critical thinking about art and design in terms of context and use, and strongly encourage work that challenges established ideas.

 

A faculty of working artists
The School's faculty is comprised of innovators and leaders in contemporary art practice. Since all faculty members are working artists with an abundance of real-world experience, they can better prepare students for the creative and professional demands of contemporary art and design.

 

Personal attention
Students work closely with individual faculty members through a system of independent study. Every student is guided through the program by his or her mentor, a faculty member who serves as that student's artistic and academic advisor.

 

Forward-looking programs
Embracing the most contemporary movements in art and design, the School of Art endeavors to anticipate, and even influence, what artists will do in the future instead of working from established conventions and doctrines.

 

More opportunities for showing work
CalArts has eight dedicated galleries and a variety of more informal spaces for the presentation of student artworks. Ongoing shows provide students with the indispensable experience of mounting exhibitions and making other, more unconventional presentations.

 

Rigorous review process
Faculty reviews and peer-critique classes challenge students to sharpen and refine their work. This ongoing review process helps students to acquire important analytical and critical tools and the ability to shape their own practices once they graduate.

 

Extensive artmaking facilities
To furnish students with the latest tools and technologies, the School features comprehensively equipped computer, photo, video, print and media labs, while the Super Shop is used for processes such as woodworking, metalworking, machining, moldmaking, spraying and sandblasting.

 

Spacious studios
Upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in the Programs in Art and Photography & Media work in private studios. Students in the Program in Graphic Design work in communal studios.

 

Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects
CalArts encourages cross-pollination in the arts. In addition to various collaborations within the School of Art, students may work with musicians, composers, filmmakers, animators, choreographers, directors, actors, set designers and writers throughout CalArts.

 

Prominent alumni
School of Art alumni are prominent in the art and design communities at the local, national and international levels. Many keep close ties to CalArts and return to the School of Art as faculty members and visiting artists.

 

Influencing the discourse on art locally and internationally
In addition to the work of its faculty and alumni, and close interaction with a large network of artists and designers worldwide, CalArts helps to shape the discourse on art at the local and international levels through the publication Afterall, the semiannual art journal produced jointly with London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and ongoing exhibitions and other programming at the Gallery at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT [1]).

 

Community Arts Partnership (CAP)
Many School of Art students gain valuable experience by teaching CAP [2] workshops and classes at community art centers and public schools throughout Los Angeles County.