current Students

HANNAH FHAYE OLIVER

Hannah Fhaye Oliver (she/they) is a SF based artist, writer, cook, facilitator, activist, ecosexual and current student in CCA’s dual degree program for Performance Art & Social Practice (MFA) and Visual & Critical Studies (MA). They find importance in maintaining a child-like wonder as it helps open the heart as well as being able to discern with a cool head in order to strengthen our intuition. Her practice always comes back to relationships, with ourselves and others from people to animals and nature. These days they are thinking about how we can bridge gaps of disconnection and work together to build a more loving action world.

ALFREDO ZAPATA DE JESUS

Alfredo Zapata De Jesús is a multidisciplinary artist from Puerto Rico. The projects developed through his practice engage with past, present and future environments of his life. Recent work such as Mujer en tierra ficticia: Remanentes and Encubrimientos are examples of his intentions to isolate, document and react through a broad range of mediums. Earlier this year, Alfredo obtained a BA in Plastic Arts and a second BA in Art Theory from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. He is currently pursuing a MFA in Fine Arts and a MA in Visual & Critical Studies.

BADRI VALIAN

Badri Valian is a painter, social practitioner, and participatory interactive installation artist based in San Francisco. Born and raised in the mountainous central region of Iran, her life was deeply affected by the Islamist government that came to power after the 1979 revolution. Her maternal Kurdish heritage traces back to Kurdistan, near the Iraqi borders, where her family was displaced to central Iran. This displacement and the resulting intergenerational trauma significantly influenced her mother’s lifelong struggles with severe depression.

Badri’s artistic practice is focused on exploring the personal and societal impacts of radical Islam, particularly through decoding the physical and emotional relationship between herself and her mother by examining her childhood photo archive. Last year, her work was showcased in prominent venues such as ICA SF, YBCA, NUMU, and Kyoto museums. She is also the featured artist in the book Women, Art, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran by Dr. Pamela Karimi.