VCS Forum ‘25

This fall, join us for intimate conversations with artists, curators, and writers who are reshaping how we see the world. Each VCS Forum event pairs compelling speakers with thoughtful conversation and the kind of cultural exchange that happens when we gather in person.

Experience ideas at their fullest at CCA.

Refreshments included. Come early, stay late, connect deeply.

DETAILS

Tomorrow’s Cultural Critics

Your ideas and words have the power to move people.

The graduate program in Visual & Critical Studies at CCA trains creative leaders in visual and critical fields. We believe that enacting positive social transformation requires skills in critical thinking, visual analysis, and visual communication.

Students at CCA work closely with thinkers and makers who cross disciplinary boundaries. At CCA, students discover and contribute to the rich cultural life of the college and the San Francisco Bay Area, an international hub of innovation.

Ten years from now our visual, virtual, and cultural environments will look very different than they do today. Whatever shape the world takes, VCS alumni will continue to occupy positions of influence across cultural fields.

FALL '25 Forum at VCS

Since its inception in 2001, the acclaimed VCS Forum has featured thought leaders from a wide range of creative and scholarly fields. Open to the entire CCA community, these public-facing talks aim to foster dialogues across disciplines on contemporary issues in the visual arena.

This fall, each Forum speaker comes from our own CCA community. Each brings a unique perspective on visual and critical methodologies grounded in their respective discipline(s). Collectively they speak to how visual culture operates as both a tool of critique and transformation. Their work embodies a hybridized, inclusive, and engaged approach to examining the visual and cultural systems that define—and can redefine—how we see ourselves and the world.

This semester’s particular focus is on methods that:

• Unpack dominant narratives of race, gender, and power.

• Explore the intersections of representation with personal and collective memory.

• Reimagine the role of visual culture in building a more inclusive future.

SELECTED UPDATES

The Class of 2026—Badri, Chloe, Hannah Fhaye, Rosemary, and Zedekiah—is researching and drafting their theses, readying for the Master’s Project Year. Can’t wait to hear about their projects during the Thesis Presentations in mid-October (date TBD).

And we’re also looking forward to the Spring 2026 exhibition of work by Dual Degree Students (Visual & Critical Studies MA + Grad Fine Arts MFA): Abby and Alfredo. So exciting!

Current Students, Faculty, and Staff

Chloe King (Class 2026) exhibited in the group show “Sprang Brak” (120710 Gallery, Berkeley).

Jasmine Narkita Wiley (Class of 2027) was awarded a Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Award.

Jasmin Darznik (Program Chair) finished a draft of her latest novel about Old Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth. It’s forthcoming in 2026 from Random House.

Jackie Francis (Acting Program Lead) is working on a book: Critical Race Art History: A Primer.  

Jeanette Roan (Program Faculty) and René Bruckner (Assistant Director, Humanities & Sciences Division) delivered scholarly papers at conferences in Brussels and Toronto. 

Tom Haakenson (Program Faculty) has been studying Spanish this summer. 

Alumni

Veronica Jackson (MA 2016) was featured in this exhibition (through August 9, 2025)

Vanessa Pérez Winder (MA 2025) is now Artist Relations Assistant at Jessica Silverman Gallery. 

FEATURED ALUM

NEWLY EXPANDED CAMPUS

Building A Better Future At California College Of The Arts

SF/ARTS

REWIND REVIEW RESPOND

Rewind Review Respond (RRR) is an online forum where CCA students reflect on recent events and the ideas that affect their practice, communities, and fields of study. Many VCS are actively involved in its publication, writing reviews about campus events and showcasing the work of our students, faculty members, and guest speakers.

MEET THE FACULTY

From @ccaviscrit