Where do we go from here? | The 2024–2025 CCA@CCA theme asks, "Where do we go from here?" During a time of high conflict in the world around us, how can we come together for discussion, reflection, and growth? How can the CCA Community enact positive change? CCA@CCA maintains an ongoing partnership with For Freedoms, an artist-led organization that centers art as a catalyst for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action. Founded in 2016 by CCA alumnus Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with Eric Gottesman, Michelle Woo, and Wyatt Gallery, For Freedoms works closely with a variety of artists, organizations, and institutions to expand what participation in a democracy looks like and reshape conversations about politics.

This year’s CCA@CCA theme borrows the question Where do we go from here? from For Freedoms' new book. Published in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here? marks one of the largest public creative collaborations in American history: a series of over 550 artist billboards created between 2016 and 2023. These billboards emphasize the For Freedoms mission to model how art can urge communities into greater participation and action and foster nuanced discourse.

• 📸 CCA@CCA Symposium: Where do we go from here? | Organized by CCA@CCA
• 📸 Grab This! 2025 Girl Culture Tea Party | Organized by Melinda Luisa de Jesús
• 📸 Mend | Organized by Elisabeth Cobb Hughes
• 📸 Weathering the Storm | Organized by Isabel Samaras
• 📸 Trying to Get Free | Organized by Shylah Hamilton
• 📸 📖 We Are Witness: A Gallery Showcase at the Intersection of Storytelling & Social Justice | Organized by Jasmin Darznik
• 📸 Roots and Liberation: A May Day Happening | Organized by Valencia James
• 📸 Where do we go from here? A Roundtable Discussion with Manny Yekutiel | Organized by Pia Zaragoza
• 📸 Cake & Conversation | Organized by Pia Zaragoza

Organized by CCA@CCA

On March 6, CCA@CCA presented an evening of conversations, activations, and participatory workshops by CCA faculty that explored the 2025 CCA@CCA theme. The symposium began with a moderated panel featuring four CCA faculty members who serve as Creative Activists within their communities: Aaron Gach, Melinda Luisa de Jesús, Janette Kim, and Sara Dean. Their conversation was followed by three parallel hands-on workshops:

• poetry as revolution and resistance: a hay(na)ku workshop, presented by Melinda Luisa de Jesús, Associate Professor, Critical Ethnic Studies Program
• Learn the Ropes of Magical Activism, presented by Aaron Gach, Senior Adjunct, Graduate Fine Arts Program
• Bartertown, presented by Janette Kim, Associate Professor, Architecture Program

The symposium also included an exhibition of large-scale installations by CCA students, including Abby Lawrence (Dual Degree: MA Visual and Critical Studies, MFA Fine Arts), Abed Darwazeh (BFA Interaction Design), Angela Zamora (BFA Animation), Chibuzor Darl-Uzu (MFA Design), Zedekiah Gonsalves Schild (Dual Degree: MA Visual and Critical Studies, MFA Fine Arts), and Yunfei Hua (MA Visual and Critical Studies), Grace Cao (BFA Graphic Design), and Xinling Wang (Alumna of MFA Design).

Alongside these installations were Weathering the Storm, a poster series by students in Isabel Samaras' Studio 2 Concept course; a community partnership presentation by students in Julia Grinkrug's Home Economics and Urban Cultures course; Mend, a community sewing project by Elisabeth Cobb Hughes; and Tools for Building Resiliency, an interactive installation organized by Sara Dean.

📸 View images of the Symposium →

Organized by Melinda Luisa de Jesús, Associate Professor, Critical Ethnic Studies Program

Immediately preceding the CCA@CCA Symposium on March 6th, students from GIRL CULTURE invited members of the CCA Community discuss girl power and the specific challenges facing girls around the world. Reclaiming the idea of the little girls' tea party, the Tea Party showcased student art and research about global girl cultures. Students offered tea, mocktails, snacks, original boardgames, and stimulating conversation to foster learning about girls’ studies and girls' resistance.

📸 View images of the Symposium and Tea Party →

Organized by CCA@CCA Design Fellow Elisabeth Cobb Hughes

From February 5 through March 14, 2025, CCA@CCA Student Fellow Elisabeth Cobb Hughes invited the CCA Community to bring worn clothing to the Novack Gallery to be mended for free.

Elisabeth mended these items within the gallery space each Friday from 11am to 4pm. Students, staff, and faculty could stop by during these hours to drop off their garments, learn mending techniques, and chat about the current state of affairs and what the CCA community can do to enact change. In return for mending their clothing, Elisabeth asked that they write to her about how they can mend climate, government, community, relationships, or the self. Elisabeth offered a related linocut workshop and presented the results of her mending sit-in at the CCA@CCA Symposium on March 6.

"Mending as a tool for fostering connection and collective resistance. Consumption is practically thoughtless, and effortless. The further we are from the means of production, the less significant overconsumption seems. Recent boycotts have challenged Americans to reconsider their dependence on corporations, and in attempts to reclaim agency and resist the exploitative clothing industry, I have begun mending clothes for community members. The clothing will all be returned to the original donor, though the item will be different. Some repairs are invisible, while others are ornamental as well as structural. Considering the desires of the donor shaped my decisions with each piece, and I was surprised to find deepened care for strangers as I handled their clothing. I’ve been doing this work while sitting in the Novack Gallery, where I am almost on display. Visitors express curiosity, unsure if I am simply doing a chore or performance art. By elevating a simple task that has in large measure been forgotten, I foster community through collective resistance. A simple stitch is a step forward, toward a future of remembrance." –Elisabeth Cobb Hughes

Organized by Isabel Samaras, Adjunct II Professor, Illustration

Students in Isabel Samaras' Illustration "Concepts" class were tasked with coming up with a peer-to-peer idea for helping each other "weather the storm" during times of stress and upheaval. When faced with uncertainty and/or adversity, what can we offer each other?

Participating Students: Ailin Wong, Amelia Kamin, Angelina Colasuono, Brenda Sanchez, Cimy Zhang, Enrique Beltran, Erin Li, Gabrielle Kelley, Genevieve Zaidain, Jehrel Jordan Sabaot-Bennett, Jenny Chan, Kainoa Viray Rocamora, Katie Quigley, Linda He, Xinran Xu

"I chose to make a poster about reaching out socially when the world around you is scary and overwhelming. Self isolation is something a lot of people struggle with, and it's important to know that you aren't alone and that there are people there to help. I chose the telephone as the main image motif, representing connection." – Genevieve Zaidain

📸 View the poster collection →

Organized by Shylah Hamilton, Chair and Associate Professor, Critical Ethnic Studies Program

From April 3 through April 10, Shylah Hamilton's Critical Ethnic Studies course, "Tryin to get free: Foundations and Futures of Intersectionality," presented a sculptural installation in the Nave that invited introspection, expression, and communal dialogue.

Built in the form of a tree with hand-crafted apples, leaves, and a central mirror, the piece served as a metaphor for human desire and collective transformation. The apples represented what we seek to free ourselves from—internalized doubts, limitations, or societal constraints—while the leaves reflected the hopes we carry for the world and our communities. At the heart of the tree sat a mirror, a symbol of self-confrontation and reflection. It asked participants to face themselves while considering their role in shaping both personal freedom and collective futures. Viewers were encouraged to write their thoughts on the apples and leaves, becoming active contributors to the artwork and, in turn, to each other's liberation.

Organized by Jasmin Darznik, Chair, Graduate Writing and Graduate Visual and Critical Studies Programs

On April 22, 2025, students in Jasmin Darznik's Art of Witness MFA Writing course and their guests gathered at Wall 141 in the Nave to share their process of transforming oral histories into visual and literary work. Students spoke about their experiences interviewing family members, mentors, friends, and scientists, and revealed the most powerful lessons they learned from them.

The gathering then moved to the Double Ground Quad, where Tara Bucknor of Alonzo King LINES gave a performance, translating an interview with her sister into movement. After moving indoors to avoid the cold, other students read teasers from their literary works.

Participating students included Isaiah Diaz-Mays, Ashley Spencer, Jeremy Stone, Jazz Guillen, Susan Skeele, Zeeniya Yahiya, Alex Fischer, and Tara Bucknor.

"When faced with the idea of an oral histories project, I couldn't help but think of the countless untold stories waiting to be captured.

Tales that brim with drama, mystery, and excitement seemed to beckon to me, each one a ripe red apple waiting for me to pluck from the tree. Yet, amidst this whirlwind of possibilities, there was one story that pulled at my gut with undeniable force.

Jeremiah Jenkins isn’t just my boss; he was a friend who, during the mundane task of watching paint dry, shared with me his beautiful story. It was a tale of grief and survival, of seeing beyond the immediate pain to discover something deeper, all delivered with a humor that was both poignant and healing. The challenge of documenting such a story lies in its very nature. Grief is not linear. It weaves through time and space, linking moments in unexpected ways.

Listening to Jeremiah, it struck me that his story need not follow a conventional path. Just as life is not a straight line, neither is the journey through grief. There is an elegance in allowing the story to flow in non-linear directions, echoing the unpredictable ways in which grief shapes one's existence. His story wasn't just a single apple hanging from the tree; it was the tree itself, a foundation from which all other tales might grow.

In capturing Jeremiah’s story, I discovered that it encapsulated a universal experience.

While unique in its details, the emotions and transformations it spoke of could touch anyone who has faced loss and come through the other side. The power of this story lies not only in its telling but in its ability to resonate with those who encounter it."

📖 Read Ashley Spencer's oral histories project ➞

Organized by Valencia James, Adjunct I Professor, Critical Ethnic Studies Program

On Thursday, May 1, on the Simpson Family Makers Building's upper quad, Valencia James' Collective Practices and Resistance students showcased creative interventions reflecting on this current political moment and encouraging belief in our agency to shape an equitable future for all. These included a station where participants could learn about native plants and make yarrow seed bombs, a station that served fattoush and Haitian lemonade and educated attendees about these foods' origins and importance, a station where visitors could learn Chinese calligraphy and origami, and a station that encouraged students to candidly share ideas, feelings, or moments that stuck with them. Every 45 minutes, Valencia led participants in a maypole dance and taught them about Barbadian Landship Ritual performances. Chair of the Critical Ethnic Studies Program, Shylah Hamilton, formally opened the event by pouring a libation in the Yoruba tradition.

📸 View more images of Roots and Liberation →

Organized by CCA@CCA Faculty Coordinator Pia Zaragoza

Manny Yekutiel hosted a roundtable discussion at the Creative Citizens Hub next to the Novack Gallery on January 19th, 2025.

Manny, originally from Los Angeles, earned a B.A. in political science from Williams College. He served as a White House Intern in the Office of Public Engagement and spent 12 months traveling through six countries on a Thomas Watson Fellowship studying LGBT rights movements. Manny returned to the United States as a field organizer for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. He became chief of staff of FWD.us, an immigrant reform advocacy group, for which he was named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in law and policy in 2015. In 2016 Manny built a physical civic gathering space called Manny's, combining a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, political bookstore, and civic events space to increase civic participation. It has served over 55,000 cups of coffee and tea, hosted over 500 civic events for the community, including over 150 local non-profits and 17 of the 2020 democratic presidential candidates. Manny is also the founder of and the executive director of the Civic Joy Fund, a branch of the San Francisco-based nonprofit organization the Civic Space Foundation, which aims to revitalize San Francisco by investing and organizing projects that bring joy to the streets.

Organized by CCA@CCA Faculty Coordinator Pia Zaragoza

On Friday, May 2, the CCA@CCA team set up tables in the Gensler Family Courtyard beside the entrance to CCA's main building to offer an end-of-year treat. Community members received slices of cake in exchange for writing down answers to the question "Where do we go from here?" (CCA@CCA's 2024–2025 annual theme). Seventy faculty, staff, and students participated, submitting a vast range of responses. The frequency of certain key words or themes in their responses was tallied and visualized in a bubble plot (see below). Many expressed a need for opportunities to build community and develop ways to support the most vulnerable among us. Such responses include: "I feel isolated from the city—I hope CCA can be more connected with SF," "More resources for POC and queer students," "Community building, mutual aid, collaborative effort, helping hands," and "Support International Students." This "food for thought" will be used to help shape 2025–2026 CCA@CCA programming.